


Light

by lunavic01



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, BAMF Tony Stark, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Character Death, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Psychological Trauma, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26672308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunavic01/pseuds/lunavic01
Summary: When one of the avengers find a mute girl running for her life, they didn't imagined that this little girl would change everyone's life forever, specially Tony's.Little by little, Tony will discover that he can still find the light and hope that it was missing from his life by helping this strange girl with her mysterious past and traumas.Rewriting this story that I began in 2018
Relationships: Avengers Family - Relationship, Avengers Team & Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes & Original Female Character(s), Loki & Tony Stark, Matt Murdock & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s), Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Tony Stark & Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 40





	1. Run!

Hope ran as if her life depended on it, and as a matter of fact. She ran like never before, ignoring the complaints of people on the streets who bumped into her and ignoring her own despair. All that mattered was to run far away. Away from danger. Away from  _ them _ . This was her last chance. If they caught her, Hope would have a worse fate than death.

Her lungs burned inside her chest, begging for air. Her legs could hardly bear her own weight. and her head was light together with her doubtful sense of direction. Before the girl knew it, she was on the floor of the busy avenue.

The pain of the impact of the fall on her knee made her want to scream. Hope had barely registered a few people approaching and asking if she was okay. She didn't hear a single word. The voices were very distant, everything seemed to be in agonizing slow motion.

She could hear her own heart beating desperately in her chest, her heavy breathing, her torturously blurred vision, but none of that mattered. The only thing Hope's mind screamed was that she needed to get up, she had to run. Run. Run. Run!

She needed to continue until she was sure they wouldn't find her.

Hope got up slowly, her injured knee protesting with each movement. The people around her tried to stop the girl from getting up, but she jerked them off and ran again.

After more agonizing minutes, Hope knew she had reached her limit. Black dots filled his vision as her head spun. Just a little more... Just a little more and she would stop, she would allow herself to breathe. 

Hope felt the impact of the collision with something in front of her, going to the floor once again. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, her lungs were on the verge of collapsing, and the floor suddenly looked so comfortable. All she wanted to do was close her tired eyes.

“I’m sorry, Are you alright?” A voice reached Hope’s ears. She didn’t bump into something. She bumped into  _ someone. _

_ “Shi. Shit. Shit.” _

Hope tried to open her eyes quickly but the sunlight almost blinded her. She had to continue, she needed to get up. Hope couldn't risk being taken back. But all the forces had left his body, causing the darkness of unconsciousness to try to reach it.

_ "No! Not now ... Please, not now! ”  _ Hope silently begged.

“ For all Gods, are you okay?” A tone of urgency penetrated the man's voice. Hope needed to get up, and quickly. “Can you hear me? What happened to you?” He asked with a strong accent that reassured her. None of  _ her _ henchmen had accents. The man was trying to help Hope to get up, but the girl avoided his touch at all costs. “I won't hurt you. I'll call for help, okay? Can you tell me your name? Where are your parents?”

Silence. Hope began to feel her eyes filling with tears. The darkness was growing closer and closer, and her whole body trembled and everything hurt.  _ "Please don't take me back ... I don't want to go back ..." _

“You need help, little one. I’m calling an ambulance.” He said softly. Those words made her wide awake again with the desperation growing inside her. She shook her head frantically trying to make the man understand that she couldn’t be taken to the authorities. She couldn’t. The action only made her feel another wave of dizziness, this time stronger, her body was giving up on her.

“Hey, hey, stay awake. Stay awake. You don’t want me to call an ambulance? 

Hope shook her head slightly, thanking every god that ever existed because the unknown man had understood.

“Okay. Okay.” He seemed to think for a few minutes. "Alright, I'm going to... Hey, little one. Look at me. Little one!”

Hope felt herself being taken into the frightening darkness. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was a prayer, fervently pleading with anyone who heard her not to be taken back.

  
  


_ “Bruce! Help me here, please!” _

_ “...I found her on the street… was running and fell on me. She seemed scared… I couldn’t leave…”  _

_ “... Pretty ugly bruise. Put her here.”  _

_ “Hey little one? Can you hear me? Open your eyes?”  _

_ “Her knee…” _

The first thing Hope felt was a throbbing pain in her head, but despite that, the darkness was too comfortable for her to be tempted to open her eyes, but the comfort and calmness didn’t last long as she gradually regained her senses, and then remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness.

The thought sent a strong wave of anxiety through her body. Hope hated not being conscious or not knowing where she was. Being careless was too dangerous, something she could not be.

As much as she felt agitated, Hope knew she would have to remain calm as she could, analyze the situation of where she was, and with whom she was so that she would have a better chance of surviving wherever she was. She took deep, exaggerated breaths, still pretending to be unconscious.

First, she analyzed her own body. In addition to the headache, her knee was a major nuisance, her body was extremely sore, but it wasn’t something that she hadn't thought before. 

Next she tried to listen carefully. There was only silence, which indicated that there was no one in the room with her, or that whoever was, was extremely quiet.

Hope waited a few more minutes before feeling confident enough to open her eyes, just enough to see where she was. The brightness of the place made the throbbing pain on her head get stronger, causing a wave of irritating nausea. Closing them quickly, Hope waited until her stomach stopped turning around before she opened her eyes again. When she did, they slowly adjusted to the light, and readjusted the focus.

Hope looked around to make sure she was really alone, and felt the relief go through her body when she realized there was no one there. The problem now was just finding out where she was and with whom.

Hope put her hands on her head when she felt an especially severe headache, that’s when she felt a bandage placed on her head carefully, and on her arm was an IV. She tried not to flinch with the image and plucked the needle from her arm in an awkward gesture, sitting on the bed carefully.

The place itself didn’t seem dangerous. It was a room with white walls and curtains, the bed was comfortable and warm, and the sheets were soft to the touch, there was a large window lighting up the room and bringing in a cool breeze. That made her sure of two things: First, she was not with them. None of this seemed like a place they would have, it was too cozy. Also, they would never leave her so comfortable and unsupervised, especially after her escape. Second, she was not in a hospital. There was no medical equipment around, or nurses coming in and out of rooms and hospitals were not so quiet.

If Hope wasn't in a hospital, where was she?

It didn't matter where she was, anyway. What really mattered was getting out of there and going somewhere safe as soon as possible.

The girl tossed the sheet that covered her away, standing up quickly which made her slightly lose balance. When Hope was sure her feet were firmly on the ground, she looked around again, examining the place for safe escape routes.

There was only one door, it was her only escape route. 

Hope walked towards the door slowly, her feets barely touching the floor. She opened the door slightly, just enough to quickly look outside. What she saw was a big empty hallway, with no one around. Everything was dead silent.

_ “Too silent. Too empty.” _

Hope gave the room behind her only last look before turning around and stepping out of the door.

"FRIDAY notified me that she woke up ten minutes ago." Hope heard someone coming from the end of the hallway in the moment she put her foot out.

"Do you guys think she’s okay?" One person asked.

"I believe she is. Bruce said there were no severe injuries but… I don’t know, she seemed pretty scared." She recognized the man with the accent. 

Fear invaded Hope’s body like a train track. She closed the door quickly, looking around the room for somewhere, anywhere to hide, but there was none. The only place she could barely hide was a wall. If she hid behind it, whoever entered the room couldn’t see her at first. She ran over and leaned back against it, hoping not to be seen.

In the almost the same moment, Hope heard a knock on the door. 

"Hello, can we come in?" The familiar voice sent a chill up Hope’s spine.

_ Oh, no. _

They opened the door, but Hope didn’t dare to even breath, but she could feel the atmosphere drop when they didn’t see her. 

"Where is she?" The familiar voice asked.

_ Oh no, this is much worse. _

“Kid, it’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you.” Hope heard a voice she knew very well.

Hope’s last hope for escape evaporated when she saw a young boy about her her age fixing his gaze on her. He walked towards Hope, stopping in front of her. His brown eyes never left hers in fear that if he stopped looking at her, she would disappear.

_ Oh, fuck me _ .

"Mr. Stark." He called and the two men appeared in front of her.

_ This is bad. This is very, very bad. _

"Hello, I'm Loki, this is Stark, and Peter, you're safe now." The man named Loki man introduced himself.

Hope looked closed her eyes tightly, as if she tried enough, the people in front of her would just disappear. They didn’t.

"It's okay kid. You're in the avengers tower." Stark said with a worried expression in his eyes.

_ “What am I going to do now?” _


	2. Unspoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Minor Panic Attack

“You don’t have to worry. You’re safe.” Stark assured again, as if unsure if the girl had heard him.

_ “No. I’m not safe. Actually, I’m far, far away from safe. I have to get out of here!”  _ Hope though with her eyes still closed.

“You can relax now. You’re not in danger anymore.” The boy called Peter told her softly, but Hope was too scared to even breathe. 

“Can you tell me your name?” Loki asked patiently, Hope opened her eyes to face the man, but remained in silence. 

Silence. Silence was the only thing Hope knew at that point. 

“FRIDAY, check her vocal chords.” Stark demanded. Hope was confused at first, but for only just a second.

“Vocal chords in perfect state.” The girl looked up where the voice came from with wide eyes, searching for the person or thing that was with them in that room.

“That’s FRIDAY; She’s a AI. She practically controls everything around here.” Peter answered Hope’s unspoken question, offering her a small smile. The explanation did nothing to calm Hope’s uneasy heart.“Say hi to our guest, FRIDAY.” 

“Hello, Miss. Jones.” The robotic voice greeted, giving Hope a wave of fear. 

_ “Oh, no. no, no, no. How the hell does this thing know my name?!” _

“You did facial recognition before I asked. Good girl, FRI.” Hope barely registered what Stark said with the ringing in her ears.

_ “No, no, no,no. They cannot know!” _

“If your vocal chords are fine, why don’t you speak?” Stark questioned, turning his attention back to the girl and instantly frowning further. 

Hope felt the despair take over her, feeling and thinking too much all at the same time. She couldn’t be caught. They couldn’t figure out who she was. She couldn’t go back. She  _ couldn’t go back.  _ They were going to kill her for what she did, but not before they make her suffer enough to prefer to be dead.

It was too much. She felt despair and anxiety overwhelm her, feeling the suffocating sensation settle in her chest, taking in all the air she had. All of that in a room full of strangers that could take advantage of her weakness.  _ Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. _

Tony watched as the girl grew paler, she saw when her breathing became difficult and her desperate eyes when she grabbed her chest looking for air. 

“Hey, hey… Kid.” Stark tried to catch her attention, make eye contact, reassure her that she was  _ okay _ and she could  _ breathe _ . The girl seemed to grow smaller when Tony met the scared eyes “It’s okay. It’s alright. Just breathe. You’re alright.”

Hope closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. Her chest seemed on fire and her head hurt like hell and she just couldn’t  _ breathe  _ because she would go back and they were going to  _ kill her.  _

“Hey, kid. Look at me. Look at me.” Stark crouched down to stay at the girl's eye level without getting too close to not scare her even more. He could see from the corner of his eyes Loki sharing the same worried expression but not really knowing what to do.

Hope obeyed the order given by pure instinct and met the man's worried eyes. “Just look at me, don’t pay attention to anything else. Focus on me and on your breathing. Okay? Just me. Look at me.”

Hope didn’t stop looking at him, and Tony’s gaze didn’t leave Hope’s as he kept repeating that she was fine, and all she had to do was breathe in and out, hoping that this would help her to calm down. 

After a few long minutes, the world no longer seemed so suffocating to Hope, the tightness in her chest was no longer so tight, and in the end, Stark’s eyes were still locked on hers.

When he realized that Hope was calmer, Tony's gaze dropped, and determination was replaced by doubt. What the hell could a 13 or 14-year-old girl have gone through to have caused a panic attack? Realization hit him like a train. He was afraid of the answer.

“Are you okay?” Loki asked the girl when Tony came back to his side. Hope with a quick nod. “Alright, little one. I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Do you know where your parents are?” Loki asked carefully. 

Tony knew FRIDAY could just find all the information available about that kid, what the AI probably did already, just waiting for her boss' command to spill it out, but Tony wanted to see if Loki could get some words out of her. 

Hope looked down and shook her head. No, she didn’t have no one. Not anymore. The only person that ever cared for her was long gone. She was truly alone.

“I think that answers our question.” Loki said, looking down at Tony, who also seemed to have understood the message hidden in the girl's eyes. Something bad had happened to her.

“Where did you come from? Where do you live?” Stark asked again. 

_ “They can’t know. They can't know. They can't know.”  _ Hope didn’t take her eyes off the floor, even more afraid that her lack of answer would make them angry enough to punish her.

“Okay, this isn’t working. She clearly doesn’t wanna talk. What are we going to do?” He asked, looking at Loki, searching for answers. Loki looked back, just as lost.

Hope rolled her eyes slightly so they wouldn’t see how disrespectful she was being.

_ “Just let me go? It’s a good start.” _

“Oh, so now you don't know what to do?” Tony asked sarcastically. “You put us in this mess, and now you don't know what to do!”

“Do not come with this attitude on me, Stark, you know where this will take us, and it is not the time.” Loki said angrily.

As the two men fought, Hope took the courage to look up since their attention was not on her. The boy named Peter wasn’t involved in the conversation between the two men. Instead, his eyes were on Hope, as if examining her behaviour. Hope could swear that if she tried enough, it was possible to see the gears in his brain working hard. She looked back at the floor quickly. 

“Are you hungry?” Peter asked out of nowhere.

The two men fell silent immediately upon hearing the boy's question, bringing their attention back to Hope.

The girl looked up with wide open eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she got appropriate food, since they left her hungry for most of the week. As an answer, Hope’s stomach growled loudly.

Peter smiled and took that as a sign that he was right “I’ll take that as a yes.” He looked at Tony still with that silly smile on his face, which instantly made Tony’s lips go up a little, but he forced himself to just roll his eyes. 

“Fine. I’ll get her something.” He said as he walked towards the door but then stopped, looking at the wall that Hope was standing against. “What do you want, kid?” 

Silence. 

Tony rolled his eyes again. “Okay, I’ll get something from the trash.”

_ “It wouldn’t be the first time.”  _ Hope thought bitterly. __

When Tony left, the three of them just stood there awkwardly, only then Loki realized she wasn’t supposed to be standing. She was hurt and not to mention how exhausted this girl appeared to be, seeming to carry the weight of the world on her small, fragile shoulders. still clearly frightened, as if at any moment someone would lash out and hurt her. Loki could see that she was in pain, and not just physical.

“Now, you need to lay down, little one. You got hurt pretty bad and need rest.” Loki said, trying to get closer, but in the moment he did, Hope pushed herself toward the wall even more, even though her back was, quite literally, against a wall.She closed her eyes and waited for the impact. It never came.

Loki froze in place in the moment he saw how she reacted, and raised his hands slowly to where she could see them.

“Okay, calm down, kid. Open your eyes. I’m not going to touch you. I promise. I’m not going to hurt you.” Hope slowly opened her eyes watching Loki with a careful expression, still waiting for it to be a trick, and in the moment she opened her eyes, he would hit her and laugh in her face. “We’re not here to hurt you. We just want to help, little one.”

When it was clear that he was not going to hit her, Hope let herself relax her aching back. She wanted to believe them, after all they were The Avengers. The heros. The “good guys”. She knew every one of them, she admired what they did, But she couldn’t believe it.  _ They _ had people everywhere, Hope couldn’t let her guard down. 

“Please, you need rest. It’s in your best interest. Just lay down in the bed.” Peter pleaded in a soft tone, and something about his innocent eyes made her want to listen to him. 

But Hope couldn’t let herself be fooled by the appearances. Everybody could betray everybody, She had quite enough experience with that. 

However, if she was looking for a form of escape, they needed to believe that she was cool. That she at least started to trust them. Hope would play according to the rules of their game.

She looked at both of them again, making sure they wouldn’t just attack her and slowly walked towards the bed, sitting with some difficulty because of her aching knee and looking at them with innocent eyes. 

“Are you not going to lay down?” Peter asked. 

_ “I’m not stupid. If I lay down it’s gonna be more difficult to get up and run if I need to, silly.”  _

“Okay, I think that is all that we’re going to get from her.” Loki said with a smirk. 

Tony walked around the kitchen thinking about the situation that Loki had got him into this time.

He knew that since Thor had brought him in, Loki had changed, he no longer needed that evil facade, he didn’t need to pretend to be untouchable. He felt sorry, he wanted to be better, to  _ do _ better. He wanted to make it right.

Tony understood the feeling. God knows how many mistakes he made in his life, how much blood was in his hands, but  _ this?  _ This was beyond limits of tolerance.

Just thinking about the horror he felt when he saw Loki bringing an unconscious child into the house, his mind racing through the worst scenarios and the consequences that that action wound have, made him shiver all over again.

When he woke up that morning, “have a homeless kid in his lab” definitely wasn’t on the “To Do List”, not even knowing what kind of shit she was in. 

However, one thing that Tony was unable to do at that moment, was to take the girl's frightened eyes out of his head. That was making him uneasy.

He walked towards the fridge and grabbed a cold sandwich, leaning his body on the counter, thinking.

He'd already been there more times than he was capable of count. He knew the devastating and suffocating sensation that settles in the chest and seems like it will never leave. What he couldn’t understand was why a child had the same problem he did after being held prisoner in Afghanistan. 

Yes, he was aware that the signs of depression and anxiety were increasing among children and young people, but all the facts indicated that there was something much more sinister going on with that girl.

Hell, Tony at that age was studying at MIT, going out with girls and throwing parties. That’s what a teenager was supposed to be doing, not having purple marks covering their arms and being on a run away from something.

He sighed. “Friday, show me all the information you have on Miss Jones.” 

“Right away, boss.” Friday took a moment to collect all the info as Tony looked up at the hologram. 

“Hope Rory Jones, daughter of Tracy and Arthur Jones. born on December 23, 2003. Excellent grades throughout the school career, which went until the 7th grade. After this date, Miss. Jones school history doesn’t exist. Mother, Tracy Jones was married to Arthur Jones for two years, was an important ballet dancer, who died on September 25, 2012, cause of the death: Armed robbery. James Arthur Jones, historian, doesn’t contain data, except for her daughter's permanent guardianship.”

Tony watched the documents and statements appear in and out of his screen along with Friday's words. He was right. The girl didn’t have an easy life.

“Stark, why are you taking so-” Loki approached, immidialy seeing all the data on the screen. “Is this all hers?” 

Tony just nodded, his voice seemed to have disappeared.

“For all God’s… She watched her mother die?” Loki’s eyes were wide as the footage of a young woman lying on the floor with a little girl by her side played in the hologram.

Tony closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to think in the parallel of that moment. He didn’t want to think of Siberia. His mom in the car as Barnes slowly took the air out of her lungs…

_ “No, don’t go there.” _ He thought, opening his eyes.

“Poor child…” Loki said with sadness in his voice.

Tony closed the hologram with one wave of hand. “Well… At least she wasn’t...” Tony was interrupted by a scream coming from upstairs.

They looked at each other for just for a moment before running to the medlab, hearing another terrified scream and what seemed like glass break on the floor. 


	3. The Beginning of the Living Hell

The silence that settled between the two children was inevitable when Loki left minutes before to go after Tony, who was taking longer than expected. Hope and Peter stared at each other for a moment, but she immediately looked down at the floor, Peter’s gaze however kept on her.

Hope never had many friends, even when her life was considered normal. She always had been extremely shy, to the point that she cannot have a single conversation without stuttering. Besides, Hope was used to going unnoticed, so Peter’s questioning look and the attention everyone was giving her made her extremely uncomfortable.

Peter was also uncomfortable with the silence. He wasn’t used to being in the presence of someone who didn’t speak. So he was looking for something, anything to say so he could break the awkward silence.

"So... how should I call you?" Peter asked awkwardly. Hope stared at him and then looked away. "Okay... FRIDAY, can you tell me Miss Jones' full name?"

"Of course Peter. Her name is Hope Rory Jones.” FRIDAY’s robotic, friendly voice echoed around, making Hope look up towards the voice with a sour look, it still bothered her that they already knew her name, but it didn’t matter much if she left that place quickly as possible.

Peter guessed what she was thinking by the look on her face. "It has access to almost every database that exists; that’s why she knows your name." Peter said with a small shrug. "Your name is very pretty, Hope." 

Hope stared at the boy for a moment with a frown. He really did look like an innocent and caring person. This new friendly perspective she had upon him made her feel uneasy. Even so, Hope forced a small smile to him and then avoided his eyes again. Peter seemed to be pleased with this progress towards communication and this gave him an idea.

"Hey, do you like Star Wars?"

Hope looked at Peter with a curious expression. She nodded slightly, even though she never had watched one movie of the series.

"Seriously? Okay, okay! I have something to show you. I'll be right back!" Peter ran out of the room without looking back, with a bright smile on his face.

Hope shook her head and smiled a little, swinging her legs back and forth.

_“What rotten luck ... Ending up here at the Avengers Tower of all places... I have to get out of here and go somewhere safe ... but I can at least eat something…”_

Hope's thoughts were interrupted when she heard unfamiliar voices in the hallway of the room.

"FRIDAY said they were here..."

Hope panicked. They had called someone. They had figured out. They were here. They would lead her back to _them._ She couldn't go back. _“Stupid! You let your guard down! You let yourself be fooled. Now you’re going to die!”_

Hope had to run, find a way to escape before it was too late. She tried to get up, but her bruised knee nearly made her fall and she had to lean on the bed to keep from hitting the ground.

"Tony? We arrived and- "

A pillow struck Steve's face, and he heard a scream.

Hope began to throw anything she could reach at them, shrieking with fear and her entire body shaking.

"Hey! Who-Who is this girl?!" Sam asked, placing a hand in front of his face to protect himself from the objects being thrown at them.

"Hey, hey, girl-" Steve deflected from a glass vase this time, aimed at his head. They moved to the back of the couch like retreating troops, as Hope kept yelling and throwing anything at them within reach. 

Of course she knew of them. Captain America, Winter Soldier, and the Falcon, The Avengers. The most powerful heroes on Earth. Those who saved Sokovia, who fought in the New York attacks and rescued people from the Soul Stone. Those who defeated the Mad Titan. Hope knew them and admired them as a child. They were supposed to be the good guys. Supposedly.

Unfortunately, Hope had learned the hard way the people who were supposed to be good and protect others, didn’t always.

Then, without even realizing it, she began to distrust everyone, and now she didn’t even trust the most powerful heroes on Earth.

  
  
  


Tony could hear Hope's desperate cries, his heart pounding in his chest as he could only wonder what would be so terrifying to make her scream like that.

The first thing he saw when he arrived in the room was all being thrown. Hope was in the corner of the room screaming, with a frightened but at the same time extremely determined look, while the three adults were curled up behind the couch with confused and irritated stares. In any other situation, Tony would die laughing. Three strong, grown men who fought against aliens, unable to deal with a hysterical teenager. But this wasn’t a funny scenario. Hope was truly scared, terrified even. What kind of child was afraid of the good guys?

"Hey, hey, hey, kid!" Tony placed himself between the Avengers and Hope; she stopped screaming instantly, but still kept a glass vase in her hands. Out of the corner of her eye, Hope saw Loki in a defensive position, ready to intervene if necessary and Peter running in at the same moment with a large box in his hands and a confused expression. 

"Hope, look at me." She was caught off guard by the use of her first name, but she looked at him. "It's all right. They are friends. They will not hurt you. Believe me."

"Tony, what the hell-" Sam tried to speak, but Hope's quick, aggressive response made Tony give him a stern look at his friend.

“Quiet, Sam.” Tony almost growled, that shut him up instantly.

_“They do not look so friendly.”_

His attention came back to the girl, softing his expression immidialy "It's alright. It's okay, I promise.” Tony assured her, but Hope kept glancing between the strangers and Tony. "Hey, look at me." Hope returned her gaze to Tony, surprised by the soft but authoritative tone he used. "Hope, you don’t have to be afraid anymore. You're safe here. No one will hurt you or cause you any harm. Nobody here is the villain.” He paused for a second, letting her digest his words. "Drop the vase, please," he begged gently, and to everyone's surprise, except Peter’s, that was a tone that fit Tony.

Hope looked down at her hands, holding the vase so tightly that her fingers were already white, then looked back at Tony.

"No one will hurt you. You have my word, Hope.” he assured her again.

It wasn't as if Stark’s word was of any value to Hope. People lied all the time. She wasn’t someone who trusted people easily. With all the lies she’d been told, and bruises she had acquired in recent years, it was only natural that she didn’t want to be approached. All the people who had been present in her life turned out to be distrustful. They required a role that unfortunately she had to play along with - a happy, loved girl from a good home. But behind the curtains, things were very different. The ugly reality came to the forefront, and that was it. Ugly.

But something changed when she met Tony’s eyes.

He was still breathing short and heavy, his eyes were fixed on hers, but what was more surprising to her is that she saw no malice or anger there. Just worry. 

Hope cursed herself internally for wanting to believe his words; those people could hurt her, do you some kind of harm, and that would end in more damage. But Mr. Stark’s promise was so ridiculously tempting, it was so easy to believe that she was safe and didn’t need to run anymore that without realizing it Hope slowly lowered the vase, and consequently, she also started to let her guard down on those people.

Tony slowly reached his hand out to her, letting her see what he was doing. Hope saw Tony’s outstretched hand and then looked back at him. In that gesture, she understood that Tony was asking for a chance to show her that he deserved to be trusted, and Hope thought she was starting to believe him.

She handed him the object slowly, careful not to drop it and he took it from her hands just as gently.

At that moment, Tony realized that gesture was bigger than it seemed. Tony understood that Hope was trusting him for the first time since arriving there. By handing over her “weapon,” she was relying on him to not let these strangers hurt her.

"Okay, okay. Thank you." Tony looked away from Hope and glanced at Peter, who was still at the door with the Star Wars box in his hands. Tony then turned his gaze to Hope, who followed his gaze to Peter.

"Hope ... Why don't you go with Peter to the kitchen? Your sandwich is on the counter." He relaxed from his defensive position and straightened his suit.

Hope looked at Peter who gave a small, inviting smile and then looked at Tony, nodding slightly and walking the boy, but before reaching the door, she looked back at him.

_I'm sorry._

And she really did. Hope knew she had done a tremendous amount of damage with her little show at the home of the person who took her in, and she regretted her hasty actions. But the truth is, she would do it. Hope did not regret fighting bravely for her freedom. She would do anything not to go back to _them_. And somehow, her eyes told Tony exactly what she wanted to say but couldn’t, and once again, Tony was overwhelmed by the way that those eyes expressed.

"It's okay, kid. I get it." Tony said, gesturing with his hand.

Hope gave a small nod and followed Peter.

The three men who watched the scene in silence came out behind the sofa with a look in their eyes that indicated a complete loss of comprehension.

"What the hell happened here?" Sam yelled.

"Who was that girl?" Bucky asked seriously.

"Why did she attack us like that?" Steve demanded sternly.

"Woah, woah. Hold your horses. There's enough of me for all of you.” Tony joked, avoiding the questions.

"Her name is Hope Jones," Loki answered, pulling away from the wall. "I brought her here. I found her in the street, completely bruised, as you clearly saw. She fainted and seemed to be in danger. I couldn’t have left her there."

Steve and Sam looked at each other, but Bucky stared at the door that Hope had left through.

"So ... did you just decide to leave her here?" Steve asked, putting his hands on his waist.

"No. Let's just let her recover a bit and call the authorities. After that, it's their problem. "

Loki sighed heavily before retreating, seeming to dislike the idea.

"I think it's the right thing to do." Steve sighed. "I'm going to rest in my room for a while. See you at dinnertime.” He left with Sam following after him.

"She's just a child. There must be a reason for her to be running like that." Bucky stared at Tony for a moment before leaving the room, leaving Tony with his thoughts.

  
  


"And this is the Millenium Falcon. It's the most fantastic ship in the galaxy." 

Peter continued to show the Star Wars legos he had on the table to Hope, who paid close attention while filling her mouth with sandwich and orange juice. He pretended not to notice how hungry she was. "It's cool isn’t it?"

Tony came slowly over, leaning against the wall, watching them.

"I'm very excited to watch the next franchise movie because- oh, Tony," Peter exclaimed when he noticed his presence. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," he replied smiling. "He already started jabbering about Star Wars, didn’t he?" He asked Hope, approaching the table.

Peter made a funny face, but Hope just shrugged.

"Is it good? The food, I mean?" He asked, even though he knew she wouldn’t respond.

Hope’s eyes went wide but she nodded, stopped eating, and put her hands on her lap, as if she wasn’t allowed to touch on the food anymore, or was embarrassed to seem so starveling.

Tony watched Hope's behavior closely, but forced himself to look away and face Pietro. 

"Peter, why don’t you ask Happy to buy more ice cream? We seem to be out.” Tony asked, looking at Peter.

"Of course, Tony. I'll see you later Hope." Peter agreed without further questioning and headed out.

Hope immediately tensed. “ _Oh no... This can’t be good. Be ready to run.”_

Tony took the spot that Peter was sitting in earlier and sat silently for a few moments, thinking. His eyes strayed to the purple discolorations that marked the child's arms, as if she were bound by a rope, but he wasn’t sure.

Seeing that Tony was staring at her bruises, Hope pulled her shirt up to cover her hands, again hiding the marks that embarrassed her.

Tony’s eyes went back to stare at the girl, feeling something squeeze in his heart. However, he cleaned his throat one moment later and began to speak.

"Listen... Hope. I understand you don’t want to talk... Or something... But we need to know what's happening to be able to help."

Hope looked down, feeling her stomach roll. _“They can't know. They can't know. They can't know.”_

"How did you get those marks?" Tony insisted.

Silence. 

"Someone did this to you?" He tried again. All Tony wanted was some indication that she would be willing to say something, even if it wasn't for words.

Nothing.

Tony leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, looking sideways.

"We can't go on like this, kid.... We have to inform the call Social Services about your situation...." Tony said, and immediately knew what he said had been a mistake when he watched the color slowly drain from Hope’s face. "I know it must be difficult.” He forced himself to keep going, “but we can’t do much more than that. I'm sorry, kid." 

Hope managed not to roll her eyes or give a sarcastic laugh.

_"Social Service was the one that put me in this situation, Mr. Stark. They didn't help me before, and they won't help me now."_

_Hope was sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chair, in the completely white, lifeless waiting room._

_The girl did not know what to think or what to feel. What she knew was that she definitely didn't want to think about what had just happened. She didn't want to think about the chaos that everything had become in the past 12hrs or how confused and scared she was feeling, but more than anything, she didn't want to think about where her mother was, in a cold operating room, fighting for her life. The doctors tried to lie to her, but Hope wasn’t stupid. She knew that her mom wasn’t okay._

_Hope had already lost the track of time, only realising that it was already morning when she saw the sunlight over the windows, and at that moment, the doctor came out of the doors where her mother had entered hours ago ._

_Hope couldn't help but feel hope. The bit of hope that said that maybe, just maybe, everything would end up okay. Her mother would be waiting for her with smiles and caresses, and that in a few days they would be home._

_It was this thought that gave the 9 year old girl enough strength to get up from her chair and face the doctor._

_\- Hi… - He started cautiously. - You are Hope, right? I am Dr. Marcos, it’s nice to meet you. - Dr. Marcos held out his hand so that Hope could shake._

_The girl hesitated for a moment, thinking about what Tracy had said about not talking to strangers, but she was in a hospital, and nobody was going to hurt her in a hospital, right? At least, Tracy always said that doctors were good people and just wanted to help people get better. So Hope decided it would be okay if she talked to the doctor. She slowly shook the man's hand._

_The doctor smiled sweetly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, Hope realized, The smile he was giving was sad, and the girl couldn't understand why that thought made her want to cry._

_“Where's my mommy? Can I see her?” Hope asked in a whisper._

_Dr. Marcos' smile faded slowly. He stopped for a few moments, seeming not to know the best approach._

_“Hope, why don't we sit down and talk a little?” He suggested, gently._

_Hope didn't want to sit down, all she wanted was to see her mom, even so she didn't argue with the doctor. She sat in the chair where she had spent the past hours, Dr. Marcos however, didn’t sat with her. Instead, he got down on his knees to be at eye level._

_“You don't have to lie to me, Dr. Marcos. You can tell me the truth, I'm a big girl.” Hope said to him, wanting to look strong._

_Marcos smiled slightly. “I have no doubt that you are, Hope. You're a very brave girl.”_

_Hope just nodded, not knowing what to say._

_“And that's why…” He continued awkwardly, “that I need you to be even bravear, and listen to me carefully, ok?”_

_Hope nodded again, already feeling tears forming in her eyes._

_“Hope... your mommy was very hurt... And, as much as... We did everything that was possible... But…”_

_“My mommy became a little star, right?” She interrupted the doctor, looking into his eyes seriously, looking much more than 9 years old at the time. Because of the difficulty the doctor was having to complete the sentence, Hope didn't need to hear what he was about to say. She knew._

_Dr. Marcos looked away, unable to bear the child's sad eyes._

_“I'm sorry, dear. I'm really sorry.” He said, in a hoarse voice._

_Hope slowly felt her world collapse around her. Everything seemed too much._

_Too big, too bright, too fast... But the pain? The was slow, intense, it took time and space and it was unbearably suffocating, especially for a 9-year-old girl who didn’t understand death, and her first experience with it had been with the person she loved the most ... The only person she really loved._

_Hope couldn't put the pieces together. Just a few hours ago, Tracy was there, with her, doing what she loved most in her life. And now she just wasn't. In a blink of an eye…_

_“Hope? Are you feeling well, dear?” The doctor's voice caught Hope’s attention among her messy thoughts that prowled her confused head._

_She looked back at the man and noticed that he had a worried and anguished expression._

_“Hope?”_

_No. Hope refused to cry there, not at that moment. She had to show that she was strong, as her mother had taught._

_She tried to wipe the tears that insisted on falling without her command, trying to ignore the despair, the pain in her chest, the knot in her stomach and the tears that continued to fall._

_“What will... What’s going to happen to me?” She asked the doctor, hoping she had a determined expression on her face. It didn't seem to convince Dr. Marcos._

_“You don't have to worry about that now, okay? We have very nice people here who will help you.”_

_“Dr. Marcos?” A woman caught the doctor's attention, making him look up and nod._

_The woman approached slowly._

_The first thing Hope noticed was her blue eyes, which were beautiful, and different from Tracy's eyes._

_“Hope, I want to introduce you to my friend Amanda. She will explain to you what will happen now, okay?”_

_She was silent again. What could she possibly say?_

_The blue-eyed woman got on her knees like Dr. Marcos and looked at her._

_“Hello, Hope.” She smiled sadly. “We are sorry for your loss.”_

_She waited for the girl to say something, but Hope remained silent._

_“I work at the CPS. And I’m here to ensure your well being. You understand?” Hope nodded slightly, not paying much attention to what she was saying. What was her name again? “What we are going to do now is take you to the Guardianship Council... There, they will take you to a shelter, until they find another relative of yours. You understand?” Hope nodded again.”That’s good, Hope. You’re a smart girl, you know? So now I need to ask you. Do you know where your father, grandparents, aunts are? Do you know someone who is familiar to your mother?” The woman asked patiently._

_Hope shook her head. “Mommy said that Grandma is no longer here... And that my dad doesn't know about me”_

_The adults looked at each other and then returned to her._

_“And do you have uncles or aunts?” Dr. Bruno asked._

_Hope shook her head._

_Amanda sighed heavily._

_“It's okay, my dear. You've already helped us a lot, okay?” She guaranteed. “Now come on, they are waiting for you.”_

_Hope got up without batting an eye. Or rather, it was taken by them._

_She couldn't hear what the doctors said in whispers and much less she cared. She looked at the window and the sunlight again. For some, it was the beginning of a beautiful day, but for Hope, it was the beginning of a living hell._

  
  
  


_The shelter was different from what Hope was used to. It had been a week since she had been taken there, not knowing if she would leave._

_It was turbulent and full of rules. Meals were on time, they slept and woke up at a specific hour, and studied all together._

_Children were everywhere, playing, talking, reading, watching TV. Some girls who had been at the shelter the longest came to talk to Hope, to get to know her, but shyness and sadness were the barriers that separated Hope from the other childrens._

_She was sitting on her bed in a collective room when a woman Hope recognized from the morning activities, approached her._

_“Hope?” She called sitting on the bed next to her. “Remember me? I'm Julia.” Hope didn’t even bother to look at her. “I need you to come with me.”_

_This caught the girl's attention, making Hope stop playing with a teddy she found lying around and look at the woman. “Where are we going?”_

_Julia smiled slightly. “I have great news for you.”_

_"I doubt it," Hope whispered._

_“What did you say, dear?” Julia wanted to know,_

_“I said okay. Where are we going?” She asked again._

_“Come, I'll show you.” Julia got up from the bed and held out her hand for the girl to grab amiably._

_Hope looked at the woman's hand for a few seconds with suspicion, but ended up giving in, and grabbed Julia's hand, allowing herself to be led through the halls of the place._

_For some reason, Hope was nervous. Her stomach was spinning and a feeling of despair settled in her entire body. A voice shouted at her saying to run and run, but she didn't listen, she kept walking until she reached the door to the administration hall of the place._

_“She’s almost here, Mr. Jones. Once again, I want to reinforce the issue of patience that you needed to have with her. Hope is still in the first stage of grief, you will still have a long way to go.” The voice of the director of the place reached in Hope’s ears as if they were distant echoes._

_“Yes, we understand. Don't worry, my wife and I will take good care of her. We will do our best, I guarantee.” An unknown voice spoke, giving Hope goosebumps._

_She didn't like it at all._

_“Yes, we intend to give her all the affection she needs.” Another voice, this time female, which Hoé didn’t recognize. “We understand the pain of losing someone we love... I can hardly believe what the poor girl had to go through when she was 9 years old... My God” The woman who spoke seemed very moved_

_“Yes... It's very sad… We hope you take good care of her. What Hope needs most at the moment is a lot of love and affection.” The director stated._

_Julia knocked on the door of the room asking for permission, and immediately went in, with a radiant smile. Hope came into the room still holding Julia's hand, feeling the hole in her stomach get bigger._

_The first thing she saw was a man in a gray suit with dark glasses, and a woman in elegant green clothes, watching every move the girl made. Hope imagined vultures surrounding her prey, which made her look away at the same moment, feeling her stomach threaten to put what she ate for breakfast out._

  
  
  


"Hope? Are you still with me? "Tony asked, realizing how far away she seemed to be.

She turned her gaze to him, and Tony noticed the change in her behavior.

_“I have to get out of here. Before he calls anyone.”_


	4. Stay, please

_“I have to leave soon as possible.”_

“Hope? You’re with me?” Tony asked, seeing the little girl lost in thoughts. 

Hearing his voice made her refocus and drew her out of her thoughts. She blinked a few times and tried to remember what he just said.

_“Okay, I need a plan. I need a plan.”_

“I asked if you’re okay if I call people who can help you.” He repeated himself, narrowing his eyes towards her. 

Hope just nodded slowly, trying to figure a plan that could get her out of this situation, but Tony didn’t seem convinced. 

He didn’t understand the reason, but the girl’s insecurity bothered him, so much so that he felt the need to assure her: “Hope, it’s gonna be okay. I promise you. I know you’re scared and probably have a good reason to be. But you have to let us help. Okay?”

To Tony's disappointment, Hope’s face was still detached and indifferent. Cold. She didn’t appear to be 12, but someone much older, who knew the injustices and difficulties of life. That thought made him shiver, making Tony suppress a grimace.

_“What you’re going to do is bring my death, Stark. I knew I couldn't trust you. You just want to get rid of me.”_

She put up a mask on her face, as she always did in situations like this. in the hopes that Tony would be convinced this time, that he would believe she trusted him to the point of accepting his help.

Tony ignored the pit in his stomach and nodded, accepting the silence and the girl's brave gaze in response without question.

It was weird. Tony thought that once that girl was no longer his problem, he would feel relieved, but that was not what he was feeling at that moment.

As much as he wanted to ignore the feeling of growing anxiety every time he looked at Hope’s arms full of purple marks and the girl's battered clothes, he couldn't. Tony felt that something very bad was happening to her, and he didn't know how to behave in the face of the situation.

“Great. Now, eat. I’ll make a call and be right back.” He said, getting up from the chair and grabbing his phone from his suit pocket as he walked away. 

Hope waited until she heard distant footsteps, then stood up without making the slightest noise, went to the door and looked at the large corridor. He was nowhere to be seen. 

She pulled her head back into the room and started to pace back and forth trying to think about something. 

_“I don’t have time to plan something more elaborate, I’ll just go, without bringing attention to myself. I’m good at that, right?”_ She looked around the kitchen, feeling scared. _Food. I need food.”_

Hope knew that hunger might even be forgotten at that moment, that she was sated, but eventually she would be hungry again, and not having anything to eat on the street was more complicated.

She hated stealing. Gabriela had taught Hope that it was wrong and dishonest. And after what happened that night, she even hated the thought of taking something that didn't belong to her. It made her feel like _him_.

But desperate situations called for desperate actions. She was not willing to starve.

Hope filled her dirty pockets with everything she could get her hands on and then ran. She peeked through the same door that Tony had come out to see if anyone was around, and luckily the hall was still empty. She was alone.

Hope ran silently in the opposite direction that Mr. Stark went. She passed through down a hallway, then another, that’s when she stopped to think.

_“How big is this place? And how do I get out of here? ”_

She closed her eyes tightly, taking some deep breaths to not let the despair grow inside her chest. She tried to remember the corridors she had passed with Pietro earlier, to see if she could recall any doors or stares that looked like a way out, but everything was a blur of images.

_“What an idiot, Hope! How could you not pay attention to where you were going?! Did you forget you're running?!”_

After a few more minutes trying to look for a way out, the rooms started tilting in a strange way, she felt lightheaded; Hope believed it was for the hit on her head from earlier, but even if it was she knew she couldn’t stop. Not now. 

Hope supported the weight of her body by leaning on the wall and closed her eyes, trying to remember where she had seen an elevator. 

It took her longer than she intended, and in the back of her mind, she wondered why no one had found her yet, she pushed the thought aside, trying to concentrate on what was in front of her. 

“Where are you running to?” The voice came out of nowhere, scaring Hope a few steps away of the figure that was behind her. 

The God of Mischief was leaning against the wall looking at the floor with an indescribable expression. 

Hope was caught. She had lost her chance. 

“You can run. I won’t tell anyone.” He continued. 

Hope narrowed his eyes to him. _“Yeah, right. What’s the catch?”_

Seeing that Hope didn’t move and was still in a defensive mode, he avoided looking at her face and looked at the side of the hallway with a smirk. 

“You know, little one… I could watch your memories just by touching your hand.” 

Hope’s eyes went wide as fear coursed through her body. “ _They can’t know. Please, don't._ _Where is Mr. Stark? He promised no one would hurt me!”_

Loki sensed her fear, and his heart tightened. 

“But I have a feeling that you wouldn’t appreciate that. So, don't worry. I’m not going to do it.” Hope relaxed a little bit and Loki sighed. “But here is the thing, little one, I can see, even without seeing your memories that you’re in pain. That you’re afraid and running away from something bad.” 

Hope felt a shiver up her spine. 

“I’ve heard that Stark is calling the midgard authorities, but you don’t want that, do you?” 

Hope hesitated. She didn't know Loki and didn't know his intentions towards her. Not to mention that they knew too much already. Hope was just making it more difficult to herself in affirming more of his theories. She was just giving them more information that they could use against her.

Although Loki could just ignore what she wanted and have taken her to a hospital, instead he respected her request and brought her to the Avengers Tower. It was Loki who took care to respect Hope's wish not to be touched. And more importantly, Loki seemed to be giving him a chance to choose.

Hope hesitated once again, still unsure, then shook her head slightly. “ _No, not at all.”_

“That’s why you’re running?” He wanted to know. 

Hope nodded again. 

Loki seemed thoughtful, not looking at her, and after a few minutes, he asked, “Where are you going? Do you have somewhere to go?”

Hope shrugged. He nodded and looked away. .   
"What are you gonna eat?" He asked again.   
She shrugged again.   
"Are you going to sleep on the street?"   
Hope lowered her head, as if she was embarrassed. Yes, there’s probably where she was going to spend most of her days.

“So you have nowhere to go, no way you could afford food and most of all, you would still be living on the streets.” Loki stated.

Hope felt her cheeks burn, the shame of her own situation hitting her powerfully.

Loki sighed. heavily. He couldn't let that happen. Hope was so small, so helpless... Loki got chills just in thinking about the dangers and difficulties she would face if she kept going with this.

“Little one, I’m sorry but… I can't let you go like this…”

Loki saw the girl's position suddenly change to something more aggressive with the possibility of someone keeping her trapped against her will, she ready to run.

“But!” Loki hurried to say “I have a proposal for you Just listen to me”

Hope didn't relax, but she also made no mention of running, which Loki thought was a permission to continue.

“Stay.” Loki said without looking directly at her. 

_“What…?”_ Hope’s eyes went wide. She was sure she misunderstood. Loki was asking her to _stay_ ? Now she was _sure_ it had to be something there. 

“Think about it, little one. We’re the Avengers. Nobody is stronger than us. We can protect you from whatever you're running from.” He took a step closer, confident enough.

The offer was tempting. Hope needed a place to stay, but most of all, she wanted a somewhere safe, where no one would hurt her just because she said or did something wrong. She was tired of being on her own.

_“But none of this will matter if Tony doesn’t want me here and call the authorities.”_

“I'm going to talk to Stark, I know I can change his mind.” Loki said as soon as he saw doubt hover in the child's eyes “Listen, little one. I know you have no reason to believe me, or to trust any of us here, but we really just want to help. And for that to happen, you need to allow it. You have to stay. Do you understand?”

Hope felt the intensity of Loki’s words. He wasn't lying, she could see.

But it was so hard to believe that someone just wanted to help her without asking for anything in return. It was so strange to accept the fact that Loki seemed to be telling the truth. And the most unbelievable thing was that despite all, Hope desperately wanted to believe and accept his words.

 _“Give them a shot.”_ A voice said to her. “ _If they’re lying, you run.”_

She really didn’t have any other choice anyways. She stayed and accepted his promise of protection, or she ran and they called the authorities, making more people going after her, and possibly taking her to _them_ . Staying was the lesser evil after all. 

_“I’m gonna end up fucked anyways.”_

Still feeling insecurity lurking in her body, Hope looked at Loki and nodded slightly, immediately regretting it, but the action put a bright smile from Loki’s face.

“Great! Now… I'm going to take you back to the room you were in for you to lie down and rest for a while, okay? What do you think?” Loki asked, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees to look the girl in the eye.

Hope shrugged, staring at the floor. She didn't have the courage to look into Loki's eyes.

He straightened up and walked beside the girl. Somehow Hope always ended up a few steps behind him, which bothered the God of Mischief. Then he would slow down and walk beside her again, still being very careful with the girl's personal space.

Hope tried to pay more attention to the paths this time, but it wasn’t easy. She lost count of how many rooms that place had on the short walk to the room she had been earlier.

A few moments later, Loki stopped at a door and opened it for Hope to enter.

Hope jumped up to the bed. Then she stared at the large glass window, looking at the city in front of her, swinging her legs back and forth.

“I won't be long, okay?” Loki said, still at the door. She ignored him.

The moment he was out of her sight, his tense shoulders relaxed, and he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Loki walked quickly to Stark’s office, hoping that he still hadn't called anyone.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the argument that it would start and entered without knocking.

Tony’s back was the first thing Loki saw when he opened the door, he was just standing by the window, his starkphone in his hand, as if he wasn't sure what to do with it.

“Never heard of knocking, Loki?” Tony said, gritting his teeth.

“Stark.” Loki just ignored his comment and asked, pointing to the phone.”Did you make the call?”

Tony turned around and looked at the phone in his hands. “No, I didn’t. Not yet.” 

“Good, because that child just tried to run away from here.” 

Tony’s eyes went wide. “What? FRIDAY why wasn’t I notified?”

“You didn’t let me aware that I should keep you updated about Miss Jones' state.”

“Fuck.” Tony mumbled. “Where is she now?” 

“In the medlab. I convinced her to wait a little. She lied, Stark. She doesn’t want to be in the hands of this mortal system, that you know very well, doesn’t work.” 

“There’s nothing more we can do, Loki.” Tony took some steps towards the window. 

“Well, there’s one thing.” Loki said, putting his hands behind his back “Let her stay, without letting the midgardians know.” 

“What?” Tony asked, turning to him. Loki had to be kidding.

“You heard me.” 

“No.” Tony said. “Have you lost your mind?! We don't know this girl! We don't know where she came from or what kind of problem she is in! She may be missing, people may be looking for her!”

“What if the same people who are looking for her are the same people who are hurting her, huh Tony? What if the girl's plan is to run away? Stay in the street?! At the mercy of all danger?!” Loki asked.

“That's exactly why we're going to call the people that will be able to help her!”

“You’ll just let her be in the hands of unknown people?” Loki asked, getting angry. 

“We can’t have a child here without the knowledge of the authorities! She’s not a pet, she needs help!” Tony said gesturing with his hands, more frustrated than he was showing.

“And do you really think they are going to give the help she needs? All they’re going to do is make things worse!” Loki affirmed.

“She is not our responsibility, Loki. She is an unknown child that you brought to my home without my permission.” Tony said, authoritatively.

“Tell me, with honesty, that you will be able to put your head on the pillow at night and sleep in peace, without knowing if this child will spend the night safely, Stark.

No. Tony couldn't. 

The truth was that Tony was worried about Hope. He knew that something deeper and more dangerous was happening to her. But he was afraid. He already made that mistake in the past. He couldn’t do it again. At least, that’s what he was trying to tell himself.

When Tony didn’t respond, Loki just got more frustrated. “For all the God’s, Stark! If we tell anyone she’ll run away like she already tried! Only Odin knows where she’ll be and if she’ll eat or if she’ll be cold and completely unprotected!” Loki said, showing his anger. “We both know that something is going on with this kid, and if something happens to her…” Loki angrily ran his hands through his long hair without completing the sentence. 

Tony narrowed his eyes. Loki wasn’t someone to leave sentences unfinished.. 

“Why do you care so much, Loki?” Tony questioned. 

Loki looked away, his lips forming a hard line, as if this would stop the words from coming out. “She reminds me of my mother. Something in this child’s eyes makes me remember the kind eyes of my mother.” Tony nodded, knowing about his mother’s death. Loki didn’t let himself be vulnerable, and now he was letting Tony see him like that, for Hope’s sake. It was something to wonder about. “What if it was Peter?” Loki required out of nowhere.

Tony was caught with his guard down. The sight of Peter, his kid in the same situation of that girl filled Tony’s eyes, giving his chills. He could not bear the thought. 

“She needs our protection, Tony. You saw the files, apparently, she has no one. She’s scared, hurt. She’s just a kid, we don’t even know what kind of hell she’s been through. And I know you care about her, if you didn’t, you would have already called them. You’re intrigued by this child the same way you were by Peter. So, do you prefer that she stay here, where we can keep our eyes on her, or somewhere else, in danger, running away?” Loki asked only in a whisper. 

Tony looked down. Loki was right. There was something about Hope that piqued Tony's interest. The innocent and scared look in her eyes that screamed “save me” reminded Tony of himself. 

“Just for a little while, Stark. Just until she speaks to us.” Loki continued. “You know she’s innocent. She’s… helpless”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes, Loki letting Tony make up his mind. 

“Alright.” Tony looked up to him with a determined expression, putting the phone on his desk. “She can stay. Just until she tells us what’s going on.”

Loki let go of a breath that he didn’t knew he was holding, and relaxed. 

“I’m going to talk to her.” He said, already walking towards the door. 

“No, let me do it. She probably thinks that I don’t want her here.” Tony sighed.

Loki watched him for a moment, and nodded.

Tony said nothing, just went to the door and walked to the room where Hope was.

He found the girl standing in front of the bedroom's large window. The sun was already setting, making the sky a spectacle of colors, in which Hope looked with childlike admiration. One that fit her age.

He looked at her some more, waiting for her to notice his presence and leaned against the door with his arms crossed. He cleared his throat hoping it was enough to get the girl's attention. It wasn’t.

“I heard that you tried to escape.” He finally said.

Tony knew that she had heard him, so much so that the expression on her face changed, losing that childlike glow. The girl didn’t move a muscle, choosing to ignore him

“You don’t want to call anyone regarding you. Why? Why did you lie?” Tony asked, almost accusing her, making Hope feel angry.

She took her eyes off the city and stared at him with piercing, cold eyes.

_"You don't want me here. I don't need to be unwanted in another place, Mr. Stark."_

The girl's piercing, angry eyes took Tony by surprise. He never thought that a 12 year old child could transmit so much disappointment in one glance, Tony sighed

“Look, kid. It’s not that I _don’t want_ you here or anything. It’s just I think that there are more qualified people out there who would be able to help you better. But, if you don’t want that, you can stay here… for a short period of time. You’ll have food, a room and… All that stuff.” He gesticulated with his hands as he spoke. 

Tony thought that the news would elicit a smile or a least a reaction from the girl, but when he looked at her, she still looked like a scared puppy. Tony’s heart tightened a little. 

“Listen, Hope. I won’t _make_ you stay, I’m giving you a choice here. But... I can tell you need help. And I'm willing to help you, in the best possible way, because…” Tony couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't want to admit what he really thought. “It’s what anybody with a little bit of conscience would do. So, the choice is yours, but... Stay. Please.” Tony definitely felt uncomfortable exposing himself that way, especially to a girl he didn’t knew. But he knew that this was important, and that he needed to do that. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it.

Hope couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he really offering her a home? Was he asking her to _stay_? Was Tony giving Hope a choice? Was he really valuing her opinion? Could she decide what she wanted for the first time in 3 years?

It seemed a lie. It was too good to be true.

Once again, Hope looked at him in the eye.

Tony wasn’t bad, she could see that now. His eyes were not empty and cold. They held a subtle sweetness and gentleness, almost imperceptible, but still, strangely reminiscent of Gabriela's eyes. But there was also sadness hidden there. Tony looked like a child in pieces when looked closely. Just like she was.

Of course, because broken people recognize one another.

Hope remembered all those nights where she had stayed up at night, imagining it would be if someone came and rescued her. How it would be if someone protected her. Imagining the possibility of having someone who really cared, someone who made her feel safe.

Perhaps now all those dreams would have a chance to become true. Perhaps she had finally found the person she had dreamed of. Perhaps that was a new reality, full of new possibilities and opportunities, maybe all that was waiting for Hope at that moment.

Or, maybe it was all just that: Dreams. The creativity of a silly and desperate girl. It could all be lies. Another mistake on Hope's big list.

But at that moment, none of that mattered. All that mattered was that Hope was tired, and Tony was offering a bed, she was hungry, and he was offering her food. She was scared, and he was offering protection.

And in that moment, that would be enough.

Still looking into Tony's eyes, Hope decided to try. She decided, for the first time in a long time, to let her guard down. She nodded slightly, accepting the proposal.

Tony blinked a few times, surprised by the girl's response. “Wait, does this mean yes? You choose to stay?

Hope nodded again, a little more confidently.

“Okay! Good! Thank you.” Tony got up from the chair. “Good making business with you, Hope.”

Hope didn’t take her eyes off him, suddenly gratitude filled her body. She really had a place to stay now, she didn’t need to run anymore. She would do anything to show Tony how grateful she was, even if she had to clean and cook and work for them.

She looked around the room, searching for a peace of paper.

Tony watched the girl’s behavior with curious eyes. She was looking for something. “What?” He asked, but she ignored him, seeming to find what she wanted. 

Hope grabbed a pen and paper that was lying on the table next to her bed and began to write. Tony waited, unsure. A few moments later, Hope gave the paper to Tony, and waited with her hands behind her back.

Tony held the paper where one simple sentence was written in a floppy handwritten.

_“Thank you for letting me stay.”_

Something about that little phrase made Tony’s heart squeeze tightly. He looked back at Hope, and she looked so small with her hands in her back, and her eyes full with what seemed expectations. but not quite. She was just a kid, younger than Peter. His heart squeezed again, this time with a hit of sadness. 

“You’re welcome, kid.” He smiled as he put the paper in his pocket. “Well, since you’re going to spend some time here, we have to introduce you to the team.

It was exactly how Tony imagined it would be. Hope became pale, and he saw the familiar fear cross her eyes.

He sighed, knelt down to stay at Hope's eye level, still at a distance where she felt comfortable.

“Hope, do you remember that I promised you that nobody would hurt you here?” Tony asked. “I take my promises seriously. I don't promise anything that I can't keep… We’re the good guys. Trust me.” 

She looked down. Unsure still lingered in her eyes. Hope knew she had decided to trust Tony, but it was difficult to keep her guard down. Hope feared that at any moment, Tony would get tired of this whole thing, and send her away. With more people aware of her existence, it would be much more difficult to hide.

 _“No.”_ Hope reminded herself. _“You decided to trust him. Tony’s not evil. Not like them.”_ Tony had promised that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, she wanted to believe that he would keep that promise.

It was that certainty that made her raise her head again, and nod.

Tony looked into Hope’s eyes and saw trust. She was trusting him that once again, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, and for some reason, Tony wanted more than anything to live up to that trust.

"Friday, have the team meet in the Conference Room. I have someone to introduce to them."

  
  


Not much longer after that, the Conference Room was full of people. All the Avengers were there talking to each other in whispers.

“What do you think Tony has to tell us?” Wanda asked. 

“It seems important.” Natasha commented. 

Steve and Sam looked at each other, already knowing what this was about, but Bucky seemed lost in thoughts. 

“Do you know anything, Spiderling? Tony always speaks to you first.” Clint asked, but Peter refused to say a word. 

“I think it’s better if you guys hear from him.”

Tony was anxious. How would they react? Would they support him?

That thought didn't make much sense in his head. Tony generally didn't need anyone's support. He would do the things he wanted, when he wanted. But that was important. He felt that he needed their support to face this situation. He couldn't do it alone.

After Siberia, it was difficult. Tony had lost all his family, he felt responsible for Rhode’s accident, and he was all alone. After Ross was killed and the Avengers forgiven, it took a long while for things to get back to normal, but eventually they did, and Tony almost felt like he could trust them again. That’s why he needed their support. Tony didn’t want to screw things up again, like he always did. It was the life of a child that was on the table. He didn’t want that on his conscience if things went sour.

He took a deep breath and adopted the “Tony Stark Attitude”, putting up his sunglasses.

Tony showed up in the room clapping to call attention to him. Seconds later, the room went silent, everyone looked at him in expectation. 

Tony looked around the room at his friends for a moment: 

“Okay, I’ll make this short sweet. I have someone to introduce to you.”

“It’s something about the government? I wasn’t informed of anything.” Vision said. 

“No, no. It's nothing to do with that. You guys can relax.” Tony assured, and almost immediately a tension in the room faded away. Tony explained to them everything that had happened in the last hour. The Avengers didn’t know what to think. The room was filled with an awkward silence. 

“And don’t worry about asking her questions. She doesn’t speak.” Tony finished. 

“Do you have any kind of relationship with this girl, Tony?” Bruce asked after a while. “Is she your daughter?”

“No.” Tony answered shortly.

“I thought that you were going to call the responsible authorities.” Cap said, his arms crossed against his chest.

“I said that I would let her recover, _then_ call the people that can help her.”

“Do you know what you’re doing Tony?” Steve asked, seriously. 

“Cap, this girl needs our help. Our job is to help people. In other words; yes, I know what I’m doing.”

“Why don't take her now? Wouldn't it be better? There they have people trained for this.” Natasha said, knowing how to hide the shock better.

“She's terrified, Nat. I’m afraid that if I take her now, she will return to the place where she left. When we thought to call someone, she panicked and tried to escape.”

“And that story she doesn't speak?” She wanted to know.

“FRIDAY didn’t find anything that indicates that it’s a physical condition, so what I believe it’s psychological. That’s why I wanted you, Bruce, check on her for me.”

Bruce frowned. “Tony…”

“I know, I know that isn’t your specialty, but I need to know, and the only person who can help me is you. I don’t want to break her trust by bringing her to a hospital, or calling a doctor here. It would bring up questions that I don’t want to answer, at least not right now.” Tony explained.

Bruce remembered Hope’s condition when Loki brought her in. Unconscious, beaten up and dehydrated. Something was going on with that child and it made Bruce’s heart squeeze tightly. 

Then he looked at Tony, who seemed so tense and concerned about the situation it was almost comical, even though he tried to hide it.

He sighed, defeated. “Alright, I'll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Bruce” Tony said with a smile, then he looked at the confused expressions of his team mates and sighed. “Look, guys…” Tony softened his voice “I know it’s a lot to ask, and it’s dangerous, can bring us problems, not to mention that’s totally unpredictable, but this girl needs our help. This situation is for a short period of time, I promise. Just until Hope is comfortable enough to tell us what's going on and we can take the necessary measures to help her…”

“Hope?” Wanda interrupted Tony.

“Yes, her name it’s Hope Rory Jones.”

“Jones?” Bucky asked with a frown, speaking for the first time.

“Yeah. Why? It rings bells or something?” Tony asked, looking at him.

“No. No. Just curious.” Bucky replied after a beat of silence.

“Alright, then. Oh, I have to tell you guys: Avoid physical contact with her, she’s not comfortable with it, keep your distance, do not make sudden moves, speak one at a time and, for the girl's sake, keep your voice low. She gets scared easily.” Tony instructed. 

The room was silent for a moment.

“Wow!” Clint said, shocked.

“What?” Tony asked, confused.

“How do you know about this? The girl arrived here a few hours ago.” Rhodey commented.

Tony shrugged. “It's noticeable.”

“I only saw you pay this much attention to Peter.” Rhodey said looking at the kid.

Tony followed his friend’s gaze and looked at Peter, who had a childlike smile on his face, which instantly made Tony’s lips go up a little. “He's my kid, after all.”

Peter's smile grew a little.

“FRIDAY already made the room next to Peter’s get cleaned up. Also, this cannot go out to the public. I get chills just in thinking about it.”

“That’s pretty much clear.” Sam affirmed. 

Tony looked at each one of his team members looking for confirmation, feeling the anxiety grow a bit more.

 _“Here comes the hard part.”_ Tony thought. 

“Alright. FRIDAY, please let Miss Jones know that we’re expecting her.” Tony said, feeling his heart race.

A small silhouette appeared at the door, a few moments later with wide eyes, ready to run.

“It’s okay, Hope. Come.” Tony extended his hands.

 _“It’s okay. It’s okay. They’ll not hurt you. They’re the good guys.”_

Hope took slow timid steps and stopped beside Tony, looking at each one of them, searching for some kind of threat. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to just _run_. But she stayed, constantly reminding herself that they wouldn’t hurt her.

“Guys, this is Hope. Hope, this is The Avengers.” Tony introduced them, looking closely for the girl’s reaction.

There was a moment of silence where no one knew what to do next, but then Peter gave one step forward.

“Hope, I’m glad you're going to stay with us!” His friendly smile and innocent eyes made her relax a little.

“I told you that I would do it, didn’t I Little One?” Loki approached her slowly, with a easy smile on his face. 

“Hey, kid. Welcome to our home.” Clint greeted. 

“Glad to see you calmer, kid.” Steve said, still with his arms crossed.

One by one, everyone welcomed her. Everyone, expect Bucky. He was busy trying to piece together where he heard of Hope Jones before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not originally this long, but re-reading again, Hope seemed to accept everything so easily that it bothered me a little.  
> I also made some "bigger" changes in Loki's character, that way I feel more comfortable because now he actually have motive for wanting to help.


	5. Strange Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, I have no self control, so there you have it an almost 6,000 words chapter. Enjoy!

"Okay, guys, let the girl breathe," Tony said after a while, noticing Hope's discomfort. The team backed it off, while Tony stopped by Hope's side, in a comfortable distance.

"Dinner it's almost ready, Tony. You can show the kid around if you want." Rhodey said.

Tony's eyes went back to the small figure by his side. "How does that sound, kid?"

Hope looked up, and nodded, not sure if she was allowed to disagree.

The definition of "overwhelmed" did little to express how Hope felt by just walking around the giant place. She hadn't realised before how everything screamed luxury and wealth, Hope had other things to worry about before, but now, she felt like she couldn't touch a thing.

Tony explained that half of the Tower belonged to Stark Industries, and the other half was the Avengers private rooms, along with the gym, and the Common Room and the other entertaining environments. He guaranteed her that everyone needed a special card to access the private areas, which made her feel a little more secure. He also made it clear that if she needed anything, she should call FRIDAY, that was until he remembered that Hope didn't speak, and that way she couldn't communicate with the AI. Tony made a mental note about that, so he could think in a solution later.

Hope tried to make a mental map of everything she was seeing, with all rooms and exits, but it was hard to keep a track of everything, she was constantly distracted by everything they had, including the advanced technology. But what was she expecting? Everything there was made by Tony Stark himself.

Thinking about it later, Hope would come to the conclusion that she wasn't supposed to feel so impressed, after all, _they_ weren't poor, and _she_ liked constant luxury, but none of that was ever extended to Hope.

"Don't worry, FRIDAY will help you out if you feel lost." Mr Stark said, taking Hope away from her thoughts.

Mr Stark stopped in a white door and looked at her. "There's my room." He said pointing out the door at the end of the hall. "That's Peter's." He pointed to the other door. "And that's you, for as long you're with us. You can knock in my door if you need anything, at any time. Peter can also help if you want."

Hope stared at the door, surprised. _"I'm going to have a room for myself?"_

"Go on, see if you like it. If you don't, you can choose another room." Tony said like it was nothing.

Hope was sure she stopped breathing when she entered in "her" room. It was twice as big as any room she ever had. There was a big window that brought natural light to the place, which she silently thanked, she wouldn't be in the dark anymore. There were books in a bookcase near the biggest bed she had ever seen, a study table and a lot of technological things that she decided not to touch.

 _"This is all for me?"_ Hope asked herself, without really believing it.

"I asked FRIDAY to buy you some clothes since you only have those one," Tony informed, pointing out the old rags the kid was wearing.

"So, what do you think? You like it?" He asked, leaned against the doorway. Hope nodded her head enthusiastically, what made Tony chuck a little. "Good, you make yourself home."

The conversation was interrupted by Hope's stomach growling, making the girl's cheek turn red. Tony laughed again.

"Come on, let's see if dinner is ready."

"Hope!" Peter was the first one to see them. He opened a big smile, dropping the Lego he was building and came running towards her and Tony.

The sudden move made Hope flinch and hide behind Tony's back, seeing that, Peter slowed down, realising what he'd done.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He said, looking between her and Tony.

"Take it easy, Pete," Tony said to Peter and then looked at Hope. "It's just the underoos, kid. It's okay."

Peter was looking at her with sorry eyes, and that made Hope get out of Tony's back and looked at him.

"I'm sorry," Peter said again, and Hope shook her head, dismissing the apology. "I was just going to ask if you wanted to build Legos with me." He said, pointing out the pieces on the floor.

She looked at the pieces, then at Peter and then at Tony, as asking for permission.

"Dinner is not ready yet, kid, so go ahead," Tony said with a small smile.

Hope looked back and Peter and nodded, still a little suspicions, but Peter opened a bright smile, letting her go ahead. Peter looked back at Tony and the older mouthed a _Good Job_ , making Peter smile even more.

When the two kids sat down on the floor, Tony walked towards Nat and Bruce that were sitting on the couch watching something from the TV.

Tony sat sighing heavily. God, he was tired.

"When can I examine her?" Bruce asked.

Tony watched their interaction closely. Hope had a ghost smile on her face like she didn't know how to smile anymore. Seeing her like that, feeling almost comfortable enough to play with Peter, she looked like a normal child, and Tony almost let himself believe that if it wasn't for the purple marks that covered the child's arms. Almost immediately Hope's scared eyes crossed Tony's mind. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image and cleared his throat.

"Let's just wait a little. I don't want to scare her even more." Tony said, still watching them.

"Peter seems to like her," Nat said, also watching the kids.

Tony couldn't help but smile. "His desire to help always gets the best of him."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, but it didn't last long.

"Why did you do it, Tony?" Nat spoke suddenly. "I know you already gave an answer, but I wanted to hear the real reasons."

Tony looked at Natasha, a little surprised by her friend's question.

"I-- Uh... This is partly Loki's fault."

Nat rolled her eyes, laughing a little. "I can see that. But apart from him, what made you let Hope stay?"

 _"Because she needs help? Because she looks small and fragile?"_ Tony thought.

He hesitated. "Anyone of you would do the same thing, Nat," He said, trying to avoid the question.

Tony looked at Hope again, feeling the discomfort crawl through his body.

His friends knew Tony well enough to know he was uncomfortable, and he didn't want to talk about it, and although Nat wanted to pressure him for more answers, she knew it was better to let it go... for now.

"Dinner's ready!" Steve called them from the kitchen. The sudden sound made Hope jump a little, but Tony pretended he didn't notice.

"I didn't know Cap was doing dinner today! Lucky us!" Tony said, getting up and stretching, his back protesting with the movement. "Ouch."

"Feeling the age, old man?" Rhodey joked, also getting up.

"Just wait, you'll get there," Tony replied.

Tony began to walk with everybody when he heard Peter.

"Come on, Hope! Let's eat."

Tony looked back and saw Peter on his feet, while Hope was still on the floor, looking down. Tony went back to them and grabbed Peter's shoulder. "You go ahead, bud. We'll be right there."

Peter looked back at Hope with a concerned frown but nodded. "Okay, I'll wait for you, Tony."

Tony waited until the kid was out of the room and kneed in front of Hope, searching for her eyes. "What's the matter?" He asked.

He stared at the girl, who had her head down, her eyebrows still in doubt. What was going on in her head?

"Hope, can you look at me, please?" He asked gently. Tony was starting to realise that although Hope didn't speak, her eyes did. It was easier to read her expressions, to know better what was going on in her head.

The girl slowly obeyed, looking at Tony's worried expression.

"Let's go. Aren't you hungry?" He tried to put the pieces together, but couldn't see the reason for the girl's reaction.

Hope looked at Tony in confusion. _"Am I allowed to have dinner with you?"_

"Come on, everyone must be waiting for us." Tony reached out to help her onto her feet. She flinched a little, avoiding contact, and it made Tony's heart squeeze a little bit inside his chest.

She stared at him for a moment, and got up on her own, declining Tony's help.

Tony sighed and also got to his feet, walking ahead, letting Hope follow behind. When they arrived at the dining room, everyone was already seated, just waiting for them, as Tony said.

The room was in complete silence when they saw her and Tony, everyone stared at her, making her feel like she was at the circus, and she was the main attraction.

Tony took his place at the end of the table, leaving the chair beside him empty for Hope.

She stopped at the dining-room door, looking at them, expecting an order, something to do, or maybe that he would change his mind and demanded her to leave. After a few seconds where Tony just stared at her, waiting for her to sit down, Hope, with small, fearful steps, joined the table

Instantly, the room was filled with conversation and laughter again, seeming to forget all the tension that the room held before.

Hope looked around the table a little confused and kinda shocked if she was being honest. They looked happy... The type of family that really cares about each other... The types you only see on TV. Only then she realised.

Hope was no longer alone.

Since she could remember, Hope had always been alone. Even when she had her mom, and her life could be considered normal, it was always just Hope and Tracy. When Tracy died, or rather, when she was killed, Hope really had no one else in the world. Well, no one who really cared about her.

At dinnertime, on the rare occasions when they let her eat, she had two options: dinner in the tiny, dark room they gave her or sit at the table with their fierce, accusing stares.

Hope had always preferred the room, even though it was dark and dirty. At least there she didn't have to worry about doing something wrong just to be more punished later.

But now, things have changed. She was at the dinner table, with several people (people she admired but still didn't trust yet), feeling almost confident that she wasn't going to be punished. Needless to say, she found the new environment intimidating, confusing and noisy, at the least.

"Why aren't you eating?" Tony's words snapped her out of her thoughts, and she met Tony's concerned eyes once again. "You have to eat. It seems like you haven't eaten for a while."

 _"It doesn't just seem like it. I don't remember when my last real meal was. She only let me eat when I was already on the edge of passing out."_ Hope thought, bitterly.

Seeing the girl's expression, Tony frowned slightly and leaned towards the girl so only she could hear him.

"Hope, you can eat. It's not poisoned or anything. No one means you any harm." Hope looked at him and then at the food, but didn't make any motion to start eating. "Look, if you eat all your food, we can have ice cream for dessert." he offered, propping his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together as if negotiating.

Hope narrowed her eyes at him. _"Are you manipulating me?"_

"What? It's true! There's ice cream in the fridge. Happy bought it earlier." He said, almost smiling.

Hope couldn't remember the last time she ate ice cream. The sweet taste filled her imagination. She looked at the plate and settled in to the chair, clutching her fork awkwardly and placing a piece of food in her mouth.

Tony smiled victoriously and went back to eating, looking around the table. Tony saw Steve looking at him, then looked away. Just the action almost made Tony lose his appetite.

Although things between the team were better, the same couldn't be said about Tony and Steve. 

Even after Thanos, even after half of the universe died and even after Tony had almost died himself to bring everyone back and forgiven Bucky just enough to accept him on the team, things were still tense. Tony could no longer look at his friend in the same way, and so did Steve. The Civil War had left wounds that Tony thought no measure of time would be able to heal.

After dessert (Hope almost ate an entire bowl of ice cream) everyone went to their respective places while Tony, Hope, and Peter were left behind. Hope for not knowing what to do, Tony to watch her and Peter to keep them company, but after just a few minutes, Sam shouted from the other room.

"Peter! We're going to play Mario Kart! Do you want to come?"

Peter's face lit up. "I'm coming!" He shouted back and turned back to Hope. "Hope, you want to come?" He asked with a friendly smile.

Hope shook her head slowly, declining the offer. Peter gave her a sad look but nodded.

"Next time, then." He looked at Tony on his way out to know if it would be going to be okay if he left. Tony just nodded quickly and then Peter left.

Tony opened his mouth to speak to her again, only to be interrupted by his phone ringing. He took the phone from her pocket with annoyance and looked at the ID. With a sigh, he got up from the chair. "I have to take this. I'll be right back." Tony brought the phone to his ears and left the room.

Hope watched him leave and then rested her chin on her arms folded on the table, trying to make amends of what had happened that day, because she still couldn't understand that she was free (for now) and she was safe with the Avengers by her side. She couldn't understand that Tony Stark had asked her to stay--, At that moment, another thought hit her.

What if the condition of her staying was because he wanted her there to be some kind of maid? It made sense. In all the time she was there, Hope didn't see any kind of employers, besides, what other reason would he let a homeless unknown kid live with them?

As soon this conclusion was set in her mind, Hope began to look for something to clean.

She moved quickly around the room picking up the dirty dishes that were left by the table and taking them to the sink, starting to wash them the best she could.

 _"You better do it right."_ She thought.

"What are you doing?" Mr Stark's voice broke the silence suddenly, startling Hope so much that she almost dropped the plate she was holding. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He apologised, putting his phone back to his pocket as he approached. "What are you doing?" He asked again, pointing to the dishes in the sink.

Hope looked at him confused. _"I'm washing? Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"_

"Did you know we have a dishwasher? Either way, you don't have to do that. Bucky and Sam are responsible ones for the dishes today."

Hope cocked her head to the side and looked over at the sink full of dishes. "I'm not the one supposed to do that?"

Tony was confused by the girl's expression. What she didn't understand? "What? You think you're there as a maid or something?" Tony half-joking, frowning slightly.

 _"I'm not?"_ Hope thought. _"What other reason would I be here?"_

When the girl's expression didn't change, Tony's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "You are."

Hope got out of guard by Tony's expression, and she immediately knew she did something wrong, she made a mistake, and now she would be punished because of it, that way she would learn not to do it again. She deserved it.

Hope dried her hands carefully, and walked away from the sink, placing her hands behind her back and looking down at the floor. She wouldn't be afraid. She deserved it. She made a mistake, now she would learn to do it right.

Tony didn't miss the flinch of fear he saw in Hope's eyes before she got a step away from him, neither how she was fighting to maintain her breathing under control, nor how she assumed a stiff posture that communicated inferiority. Seeing her like this made his heart sink, as he could only wonder in what kind of environment Hope had been living in to behave like that.

 _"Not a very good one."_ A bitter voice whispered in the back of his mind.

Tony had to constantly remind himself that Hope was a traumatized child. Any sudden moves, any slight change on his tone of voice could take her on the edge. He needed her to trust him, he needed to be so very careful around her, make Hope feel safe.

"Hope, look at me." He asked, his voice gentle, the kind of tone that was only reserved to Peter, but she didn't seem to notice that it was more a request than an order.

Hope was aware that if she cried it would be bad, but if she didn't obey, it would be worse. Even with tears in her eyes, she lifted her head and looked at him, preparing herself for the pain of the impact that his hands would cause on her face.

"I want you to understand this, okay? So pay attention." Tony said, kneeling in one knee to be able to stay on her eyes level. "You're not here as a maid. You're not here to serve us." Tony said slowly, wanting those words to stick with her. "You're here as a guest. You don't need to do anything for any of us. What you need to do now is recover, that's all you need to worry about. You're safe here, I thought that we had that clear by now."

Hope seemed more confused and conflicted by the minute.

"You're safe, kid. No one it's going to hurt you."

Tony watched as the slow realisation crawled on her mind, and just when the words seemed to kick in, tears began to run freely in her cheeks, she was shaking, fighting against her own sobs. The pain was written on her feature.

Tony was taken by an overwhelming desire to take the broken child in front of him in his arms and protect her from everything. He only knew her for one day, but he came to the conclusion that she didn't deserve it this much pain. No one did, but Hope was only a child. A small helpless kid. She didn't deserve it.

With the sound of a struggling gasp, Tony was taken back off his thoughts. Her breathing had become eradicated, she was having difficulty bringing air into her lungs again.

"Hey, no, no. Come on." Tony said, fighting the urge to touch her. "Come on, Hope. You've got to calm down, alright? He met her gaze, and she tried to take a deep breath. "That's it. You're doing okay. Just calm down. You're okay." Tony didn't take his eyes off her until Hope had stopped crying, always whispering comfort words in a soft voice.

After a while, Hope was calmer, the exhaustion of having an anxiety attack, along with the events of the day was slowly getting her.

"You okay?" Tony asked, meeting her eyes.

Hope nodded and exhaled.

He studied her once again, looking for any signs of distress, but found none. "By the way, I should have asked earlier, but do you know sign language?" Tony asked remembering all those classes he took at MIT all those years ago. It could be useful.

Hope shook her head. _"Never needed to."_

"I figured. That's okay, we just needed something to help us to communicate better." He seemed to consider for a moment, and then looked at her again. "Alright, I'm going to need to go down the lab real quick. Don't leave, okay? Stay right here. I'll be right back." Without another word, Tony left the room, making Hope feel a little bit confused. What was he up to?

She looked around before sitting back at the table when her heart skipped a beat, and she heard. Out of nowhere, a piece of music that she knew all too well started to echo throughout the room.

 _"Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake Op.20. Mom..."_ She stopped, taken by the music and the memories.

Suddenly, Hope was no longer at the Avengers Tower.

_Hope tiptoed into the empty room with her ballet shoes in her hand._

_She knew that she had to take the little time she had. Her body wasn't too sore, and they weren't in the house so she could practise a little before they were back. Even so, Hope had to be careful, she couldn't risk being caught. She couldn't tell what punishment they were going to give her if they saw what she was going to do, but it wouldn't be good. Worst of all, if Elizabeth figured out that she had her mom's CDs, she would break them, and Hope would be without one of the last things that belonged to Tracy and her golden childhood._

_Hope went to the door once again, checking if she saw someone around, but no one was nearby. She locked the door before sitting down and finally, for what it felt like an eternity, put her shoes on. Hope felt a smile grow a little as she got up._

_She was going to dance!_

_She went to the old television and put the CD to spin, turning the volume almost mute, just enough for only her to hear the music. Instantly applause noises began to echo, and Tracy entered the stage with a big smile on her face, stepping into the position._

_Hope always seemed to forget how beautiful Tracy was when she was on stage doing what she loved the most. Hope remembered all those nights when she sat with the audience, watching everyone stare at her with wonder when she began to move in her white light dress. She had a light, a presence that no one could compete._

_The music began and Hope watched Tracy delicate moves come to life._

_Hope wondered if Tracy had any clue of what would happen to them after that concert. How that one would be her last dance, her last concert, her last role in the academy. That footage recorded the last hours of Tracy's life, and that fact made tears roll from Hope's eyes._

_"I miss you, mommy." She whispered softly. "I miss you so, so much."_

_Hope wiped her tears away and got up, she didn't have much time._

_She stepped into position, dancing along with her mother. She knew choreography by heart, and for a moment there, lost in her movements and in the music, she could pretend that Tracy was right beside her, just like the old times, on a Saturday weekend, just as the sun was getting down._

_For only a moment, Hope allowed herself to forget, to lose herself, to pretend that her life wasn't a living hell, and she was fine._

_The dance was all that mattered, and she was going to hold that feeling as long as she could._

Hope returned to reality as the music grew intense, and without realising, she began to follow the sound, looking for the source of the music.

She found herself in a room with a glass door. Inside, Black Widow was gracefully dancing a number of Swan's Lake in her ballet shoes. She was absolutely amazing, not as good as Tracy were, but very much close. Hope was hypnotized by her moves.

The years as a spy quickly made Natasha realise she was being watched. She glanced behind her back and saw Hope's eyes go wide and her head disappears. Natasha smirked and headed for the door. She opened it and saw Hope leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

_"I fucked up. I fucked up. I fucked up."_

"Hi." Black Widow panted. Hope opened her eyes quickly and took a few steps back. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not angry." Hope clasped her hands. "Do you want to come in and watch?" She asked, pointing to the dance room. She saw Hope's eyes dim, but she was still careful. "Come on. I won't hurt you," she assured, giving the girl room to enter.

Hope stood there for a few moments, still unsure, but the possibility of watching a ballet presentation after all those years got the best of her. She couldn't believe her luck.

Hope, still with her hands together, walked slowly toward the room. As she walked in, Nat closed the door behind her. Hope turned around quickly and her eyes grew wide.

Seeing the girl's reaction, Nat immediately opened the door again. "You don't want me to lock up?" Hope shook her head frantically. "Alright, no problem," She assured her again and then left the door open. "Is that better?" Hope nodded and seemed relieved.

Nat moved to the centre of the room again as Hope sat on the floor in a corner to watch her.

"Do you know Swan's Lake?" Nat asked.

Hope smiled and nodded. _"More than you imagine."_

Natasha looked at her in surprise, then turned back to the dance. "FRIDAY, play."

"Of course, Miss Romanoff."

The opening music began. The Swan Theme. The soft flutes filled the room while Nat moved with grace and lightness.

Hope couldn't control herself. Every fibre of the being begged her to let the music guide her body. Every known beat begged her to get up and do what she did best. Little by little she felt the excitement replace fear, and before she noticed, Hope got up.

Even without ballet shoes, she stepped in. In a perfect and rehearsed rhythm, Hope began to accompany Nat, the footsteps flowing easily, she seemed to be gaining wings and finally flying, although she couldn't do all the moves because of her hurt knee. In the middle of the music, Hope forgot everything and let herself go. There was no Avengers, no danger, no fear. It was finally just Hope and the music. She let her feet and the steps she knew by heart take care of her body and mind, she could finally dance freely. Finally, a moment that she didn't need to be afraid.

The music came to an end, Nat and Hope stopped in the same position harmoniously. Nat looked at Hope with a huge smile on her face, clapping.

"Hope, I had no idea you could dance like that. You're very good." Nat praised.

Hope can't help the smile that crossed her face. It had been so long since the last time that she danced like that, she almost had forgotten how it felt like. Yes, she still had danced on rare occasions while they were busy doing something else, but there, she had to always be aware of what happened around her, she could never, ever let herself forget everything like that. She had forgotten how it was like to be free.

"Your mother was a ballet dancer, right?" Nat asked, still smiling.

A confused look ran across Hope's face. _"How do you know that?"_

"Tony told us," Nat answered the unspoken question. "I saw a few of her concerts when he told me. You look a lot like her in your way of dance."

Hope chest tightened with a mix of happiness and sadness. That was the best compliment someone could ever give her.

"Anyway, you're up for one more? It's nice to have some company." Nat asked, with a friendly smile. "If your knee hurts bad we can stop."

All the exhaustion or pain Hope felt just a few moments ago was now long gone with the prospect of dancing again. Now that she started, now that she remembered the feeling, she couldn't stop.

Tony opened the lab's door and went directly for the work table. He had some quick ideas for better communicate with Hope that he wanted to try out before the kid went to bed.

"FRIDAY, bring me the latest watches I was working on, one that already has you connected with it."

"Right away, boss," FRIDAY replied, already bringing in the holograms.

What Tony planned was to have FRIDAY in her watch to be able to communicate what Hope needed and couldn't say in words, such as access to all private rooms in the tower. But Tony also thought that it was good to have access to her vitals, since she was easily distressed, besides, Tony had the feeling that Hope could be in danger, so it was better to be aware if things got offhand.

As he did those quickly updates, Tony was already thinking of other features that could be added to the programming, such as the "Baby Monitor Protocol" that was once in Peter's suit, and a panic button designed just for her.

At the thought of designing something exclusively for her made Tony stop. He knew Hope wouldn't be there for long, so why bother? However, he also thought that it was better to prevent any kind of problem she could be while she was with them.

After a few moments, Tony was finished. It wasn't everything that he wanted to do, but it was better to get back to the kid. He was already away for too long.

"FRIDAY, open a file for Miss Jones, next to Peter's file, and let the access free, only for me, so I can upgrade her watch while it's with her."

"The file was already created with all available information about Miss Jones. Do you want something else, sir?" FRIDAY asked in her strong Irish accent.

Tony thought for a moment before speaking. "Yes, also list her likes and dislikes in a separate file. It can be needed later on."

"Of course, boss. Anything else?"

"No, thanks FRI." He replied, already passing through the door.

As he was in the elevator, his phone vibrated with a message from Pepper. Tony felt a smile growing, just to be replaced by a worrying frown. He had to tell Pepper what he had done at some point. He knew she would be mad and worried, but he hoped that when he explained the situation, she would understand. He also had to prepare Hope for the new face to arrive. He knew that she would be afraid.

Tony rubbed his hand on his face, hoping that the gesture would ease the headache that was threatening to come through. The elevator's door opened, he quickly tapped a replied to Pepper before speaking.

"Sorry I took so long, kid. I was--" Tony looked up just to meet an empty room.

Tony blinked a few times, maybe that way the girl would reappear where he expressly said she should stay. When she didn't magically appear in the room, Tony's heart began to race with anxious worry.

"Hope?" He called, walking to another room. "FRIDAY, where is she?"

Had she tried to escape again? Even when he guaranteed he wouldn't call anyone? Had she lied again and escaped to God knows where?

"Miss Jones it's currently in the dancing room with Miss Romanoff," FRIDAY informed.

"Damn it, FRIDAY! From now on, you keep me posted about her." Tony said before rushing to the room.

The music was getting louder as he approached the room. From the opened glass door, Tony could see Nat and Hope dancing gracefully with the music. His brain didn't even register that Hope was dancing ballet with Nat before he entered the room.

Nat turned around at the same time as Hope did.

"Tony what are you--" Nat began to say.

"I told you to wait for me, didn't I? God, I thought that you had run away!" Tony's voice came out a little bit louder than he intended, but he couldn't help the frustration he was feeling. The thought of her getting away, going to somewhere where she could be in danger, where he wouldn't be able to protect her... Why didn't she just do what he had told her to do? Was that so hard?

Tony realised the mistake he made too late.

He looked at Hope again and the child was with wide eyes in fear, and immediately put her hands behind her back and faced the floor, that same posture of inferiority again. That sight broke Tony's heart once again.

Tony felt angry at himself for a moment. Wasn't him that said to the others they should "keep their voices low" and act calmly around her? Instead, he was the one that caused Hope to be scared twice that same day. Hope was a traumatized child! He could keep behaving like that.

"She's with me, dancing, Stark." Nat said, giving him a rough look that was translated 'you're an idiot'. He didn't miss the way she used his last name. "She was safe."

He looked at Hope again and sighed. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes, you are," Nat mumbled under her breath.

"Hope?" He called her softly. Hope flinched as he had screamed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. It was stupid. Can you look at me, please?"

Hope kept her eyes at the floor, not daring to look at him, still huddled, waiting for the impact.

Tony sighed worried, looking at Nat for support. She smiled in that cocky way that was characteristic of her.

"Come on, Hope. Stark can be a dumbass, but you should give him a chance to redeem himself." Nat said. Her expression was normal, but her heart hurt by the girl's reaction.

Hope lifted her head slowly, still waiting for some sort of punishment, but she only met Tony's distressed and concerned eyes, nothing of anger or frustration. That gave Hope enough security to keep looking at him.

Tony slowly got to his knee again. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to yell at you. I should have kept my cool." He stopped and studied Hope's behaviour when she still seemed calm enough, he continued. "But you also have to understand that what I say goes, alright? What just happened, cannot be repeated." He said, with authority and lightness, a strange junction that matched him.

Hope still had her eyes locked on his. "Do you understand?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Are we okay?" He asked, somehow more worried than before.

The girl considered it for a moment. She had obviously been unsure and scared because Mr Stark had yelled, but Hope also knew she was wrong. He clearly asked her to wait for him, and after years of submission, she should have known better. But all faded away when she listened to that music, all that mattered it was get where the music was playing.

Mr Stark said that she shouldn't leave, but she did. Hope disobeyed him. Mr Stark was right to be angry. But even with that right, he apologised and was sorry for losing his temper. This was more than Hope was entitled to have. For the first time in years, she wasn't punished for making a mistake, and she had even heard "sorry" from someone else who also made a mistake.

So yes, they were fine.

Hope nodded again, and she could see relief seep through Mr Stark's body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I hope you're all aware, English it's not my first language, so if you find some mistakes let me know so I can correct them (I'm trying, I promise.)  
> As you see, new stuff has appeared, as I promised. I realised some things were really rushed out before, so I hope this sound more smooth, and if you guys don't think that it is, please let me know as well so I can see trough.  
> This chapter touched sign language, and related I don't want to offend anyone, so if anything in there is offensive, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware, please don't attack me. Tell me exactly what is so I can also correct.
> 
> Please comment as well, i would love to hear your thoughts!


	6. Restlessness

Tony felt the realif pass through his body once he didn’t see any hint of fear in Hope's eyes.

“Good. I’m so sorry, kid.” He said again.

“See, Hope? He’s not that bad, huh?” Nat said, smiling down at Hope. The girl looked up and Nat, then at Tony.

_ “No… Not even close.”  _ She thought.

“You had to see her dance, Tony. She’s good.” Nat said.

Just at that moment, Tony’s brain processed that he  _ had  _ seen a glance of them both dancing, and Tony raised a questioning eyebrow. “I really want to see that.”

“What do you say, Hope? Are you knee hurting?” Nat asked.

Hope looked down at her leg and moved a little. It wasn’t so bad. She shook her head and Nat smilied.

“Right, then” Nat was already moving to the center of the room when Bruce appeared at the door.

“Hey, Tony, can I speak to you for a moment?”

Tony looked at the girl and then back at Bruce. “Well, I guess I’ll have to see your guys showing off another time, honeybear needs me right now.”

Nat rolled her eyes, as Hope gave them a puzzled look. “Come on, Hope, one more.”

Tony and Bruce walked out the door and headed towards his lab, that’s when Bruce stopped and looked seriously at Tony.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Tony asked in a rush in the moment he saw the man’s expression, feeling his heart anxiously race.

“I was looking over at Hope’s test results that I took while she was unconscious.” Bruce explained.

“What about it? There’s something wrong with her?” Tony felt the anxiety crawl through his body at each minute. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I think that the sooner I can take a look at her, the better.” Bruce said. “She had shown severe signs of dehydration, malnutrition, and some pretty ugly wounds that were still in recovery. I want to make sure it’s nothing too serious.”

_ “Fuck,” _ Tony swored. “But can you do this tomorrow? I haven’t spoken to her about it. Don’t you think it’s going to freak her out even more?”

“As I said, the sooner the better. FRIDAY can help me out most of the way, but the fever she was having when she got here, had me worried.” Then, something seemed to click in the scinests mind. “By the way, what was she doing?” 

“Nat seemed to be teaching her ballet.” He replied, not following why Bruce’s eyes went wide.

“Tony, she had a concussion! She can’t be moving around like that, also, her knee!”

“Fuck, I didn’t even thought about that when I thought she had run away again.” He mumbled.

“Wait, what?”

“Long story, Bruce Bear. Come on.”

When they got back to the girl, the first thing Tony saw they had stopped dancing. Nat was looking at Hope closely with a worried expression. Tony’s heart raced against his chest.

“Are you feeling better?” She asked worriedly. 

“What happened?” Tony asked, trying not to show so much concern. “Hope, are you feeling okay?”

She had her eyes closed tightly, her face pale as a ghost, clearly not well, but even so she nodded.

“Hey, can you look at me?” Tony supported his hands on his knees and leaned over to look at her. “Hope?” She tried to open her eyes, but as soon as she did, she closed again shaking her head. “Bruce?”

“It must be the concussion. The dancing could’ve made worse.” Bruce answered, also leaning over her. 

“Concussion? Shit, I didn’t know.” Nat said, if Tony didn’t know better, he could’ve thought that the former spy seemed guity.

“It’s okay.” Bruce said, and then looked back at Hope. “Hope, can you walk?”

She nodded, opening her eyes.

“Are you sure?” Tony asked, a little suspicious by the way the kid’s face got even whiter. 

Hope was going to nod again when her vision got black and her knees gave up.

“Woah, woah, hey!” Tony immediately moved forward to catch and steady the kid.

_ “Nonononono”  _ She struggled against his hold.  _ “Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go” _

“Hope. Hey, hey, hey” Tony let go of her with care, afraid that she might fall again. “Hey, I’m just trying to make sure you don’t fall, okay? You’re not okay, Hope. You need to let us help. Sit down.”

Hope slowly sat on the floor, not feeling the world spin so much anymore.

“Okay, here’s the thing Hope.” Tony began, watching with relief as the colour slowly got back to the kid’s cheek. “Is it okay if Bruce takes a look on you? Just to know how everything is going. I promise you’ll feel better when he’s over.

Hope in the same moment began to shake her head.

“Please, Hope.” Tony asked. “It will be quick. We need to know how you’re doing, kid.”

“You’ll know everything that’s happening, and I won’t touch you more than necessary. FRIDAY can help with most things.”

Hope opened her eyes slowly and watched them. She decided to trust them, and right now, Hope felt like shit, and it would do everything to make the spinning and the nausea stop. Well, almost everything.

The girl sighed and gestured with her hands, asking something to write.

Tony got his phone from his pocket and handed it to her in a note app. “Here.” He watched as she slowly typed and handed it back to him.

_ No needles. _ It was written.

Tony looked back at Hope and saw absolutely determination. She wouldn’t back off, she wouldn’t give him. Tony realised that that was the first time Hope really stood up for herself. He didn’t know if that was a good thing, if it meant she was starting to feel comfortable enough to not be afraid, or if her fear was so grand that she wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

Tony then looked at Bruce, who seemed to see the same thing he did. “Bruce?”

“Yeah, we can work with that.” Bruce nodded. 

“Alright. Let’s get more comfortable then. Are you okay enough to walk to the living room?” Hope nodded. “Can I help you to get up?” He asked, extending his hand to her. 

Hope seemed in conflict for a moment, but seemed to realise that she wasn’t so steady on her feet yet. So very slowly, Hope let Tony grab her hand. The touch felt unnerving at first, but as she walked towards the living room, she realised that this wasn’t bad as she thought it could be. 

Hope sat on the couch, watching carefully as Dr. Banner grabbed his suitcase, adopting such a professional posture that it was difficult to grab her head around so that his man also could become a green angry monster when angry. 

Tony decided it would be better to stand in the corner of the room, just watching while Bruce did his thing After a few minutes, Bruce asked Hope to make a series of sounds, heard her lungs, and other things that Tony were vaguely aware of what they meant, but not so much that he could help Bruce with anything.

Bruce did an amazing job of showing the girl that he was trustworthy. Always asking Hope if she was okay with doing this or that, making it very clear what he was going to do at each step, and always respecting the girl with the touch issue.

Tony smiled to himself. Bruce was a wonderful doctor. He was born to be one.

A few more minutes had passed when Bruce finally stood up.

“Thank you, Hope. You’re an incredible pacient.” He praised, making the girl smile shyly, then turned to Tony. “I can talk to you for a second?

Tony hesitated. Bruce was good at hiding his emotions, however, Tony thought he could see concern in the man’s features for a second there.

“Sure.” Tony nodded, frowning a little.

He pointed to the door, allowing Bruce to go before him, and then. Tony looked at Hope.

“Remember what we talked about? Please, don't go anywhere. I'll be right back.” Tony said with authority, but his eyes were kind.

_ “You got it, Mr. Stark. I’ll be here.”  _

He followed Bruce who was waiting for him in the hall with some papers in hand.

“So?” Tony asked anxiously.

Bruce sighed. “Look, I can't be sure. I don't have all the equipment here, it's not my expertise area and she would need a battery of exams.” He explained.

“Does that mean you can't give me an answer?” He asked.

“No. That means I can't give you 100% certainty.” Bruce said. “But with what I got to see with FRIDAY’s help, she’s able to speak. Her phonation system is without any apparent defect... The vocal cords apparently work just fine... The only thing really clear is the effects of disuse... I don't know, Tony…” Bruce said, looking lost, not a very common expression to be seen on the scientist's face. “There must be an explanation... Something to tell us what's going on. But for all the evidence, Hope’s silence is not a physical thing.”

Tony sighed. None of that made any sense...

“Did you find out anything else?” He asked, placing his hands on his hips.

“Actually yes. When Cris brought her in the morning, I took advantage and did some tests. And the results have just arrived. She's very, very malnourished Tony.” Bruce informed, with a tightness in his chest. “And she has a strong anemia and lack of vitamins, among other things... I also noticed scars from burns on some parts of the body.”

Bruce looked at Hope, who was swinging her legs back and forth.

“We did well to let her stay, Tones. She needs care.”

Tony followed his friend's gaze, unable to find his voice. “While she's here, I'm going to prescribe some medications and vitamins. More than anything now, she urgently needs to recover from anemia. The rest is over time.” Bruce explained, his medical side taking over again. “I will get FRIDAY to buy the necessary medicines” Tony nodded at him, stunned.

Where the hell that girl came from, and why did they do that to her?

“Well, I'm going to the lab, now. You’re good?”Bruce asked, but Tony could barely hear him.

"Yeah," was his reply, his voice came out hoarse.

“It would be good for her to sleep, Tony. It’s past bedtime. She needs to rest.” Bruce hesitated. “Do you want me to call someone to do that?” 

Tony was tempted to say yes for a moment, but something inside him stopped him from doing it. After all he had heard, he for some reason didn’t want to take his eyes off Hope.

“No. Uh…” Tony cleared his throat and looked at his friend, trying to disguise the conflict he felt. “Everyone it’s probably busy with… things. I take care of that.”

Bruce stared at him for a few moments “Okay... uh, I think Peter it’s already in bed. Do you need anything?”

“No, I'm fine. Thank you, Bruce Bear.” He was honestly grateful.

Bruce smiled understandingly, and touched his friend's shoulder, making it clear that he supported him.

“Good night, Tony”

Tony still stood alone in the hall for a few moments, digesting everything he had just heard.

  1. Hope apparently could speak.
  2. She had signs of malnutrition and dehydration, and lastly.
  3. Hope had been mistreated and physically abused. In what extension, he didn’t know yet.



Tony ran his hands through his already messy hair. 

"What had happened to you, Hope?" It was the question that hung around the singer's head.

His desire was to pump Hope with questions and demand answers, but what good that would be? Tony would have to control his impulsive nature and be patient. If he truly wanted to help Hope, he would have to learn how to act prudently.

“Stark?” Tony heard Wanda approaching him, a bit awkwardly.

“Hey!” He turned to face the red haired, “What’s up.”

“How… How’s the girl?” She asked softly, watching Hope from afar.

“Well… She could be better, we don’t actually know.” He replied honestly.

Wanda watched her, as if lost in a memorie. “She doesn’t really have anything to wear, right? If you don’t mind, I could borrow her some.” 

“Oh… Yeah, that would be good.” Tony was a little surprised by her offer, it seemed like having a child on the house got everyone soft. “I’ll let Friday know when you can come.”

Wanda nodded and left, Tony going back to Hope 

Tony entered the room with a calm and impartial expression, the girl was watching him closely. He sat down and looked at her.

“You’re alright?” He asked with concern and intensity. He really wanted to know how she really felt the first time since he met her.

Hope noticed Tony’s behaviour change, and that made her unsure. What would Dr. Bruce have discovered? She nodded slightly, not sure if she was being completely honest, her eyes never leaving his.

He sighed heavily, avoiding her stare. “Alright.”

They stayed there in silence for a few long minutes. Neither of them knew what to do, or how to act. 

“Well then,” Tony finally said “Time for the brats to go to bed.

Hope looked at Tony with wide eyes, looking shocked and offended.

_ "Brat?!" _

Tony had to keep himself from laughing.

“Come on, Hope. Time to bed.” He said, a little more seriously, and that seemed to convince the girl. She got up from the chair and followed Tony into her room.

“Is it okay to ask Wanda to get you some hygiene stuff? I think she got something that might fit you.”

Hope nodded entering the room and sitting on the bed, Tony stayed by the door.

“Okay… I'm gonna to call her.” He said, closing the door when he left.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief when she was alone. She finally had time to think about everything that had happened that day and to consider what would be her next steps.

However, before she could think about it, Wanda knocked on the door and peeked into the room.

“Can I come in?” The Sokovian asked with her strong accent, Hope nodded.

Wanda brought clothes folded in her hands along with hygiene products, placing them on the bed. “Here’s some clothes that I don’t use anymore.” She explained. “I think they’ll be a little loose, but it's just for sleeping, right?”

Hope took the folded clothes and sniffed them. They smelled like a fabric softener. The girl smiled gratefully.

“Do you need any help?”

Hope looked down, her cheeks turning a shade of red. She took the clothes, towel and other products, headed for the bathroom, a way of saying that she could handle it alone, and it got a laugh from Wamda.

“Okay, but I'll wait here in case you need something.” The woman spoke loudly, sitting on the bed, listening to the shower being turned on.

Scarlet Witch stayed there for a few minutes, paying close attention to the noises the girl made, watching if she needed any help at any time.

“How are you doing, honey?” Wanda asked, loud enough for Hope to hear.

At the same moment, Hope opened the bathroom doors, feeling new.

“Look at that!” Wanda laughed when Hope approached her. “The bath did you good. Let me see how the clothes look.”

Hope walked around, allowing Wanda to look at her.

“Yes, they got a little big, but they will do.” She completed, picking up a hairbrush on the nightstand. “What do you think about brushing that hair, huh?” Wanda asked sweetly.

Hope took a step back, carefully.

The idea was tempting, but she still didn't completely trust those people. Although the witch was not frightening at all, or she didn’t seem to have any intention of hurting her, Hope still had to be careful. That didn’t stop Hope in seeing a trace of sadness in the lady's eyes but she also saw understanding.

“Alright, honey. You are a big girl. You can do it.” Wanda smiled.

_ "Thank you, Miss Maximoff..."  _ Hope returned the smile.

“Okay then. I'll let you rest, okay?” The lady got up from the bed and walked to the door. “Good night, Hope. Have nice dreams.”

Wanda closed the door, leaving Hope alone in the room.

_ "Good night, Miss Maximoff..." _

Hope sat on the bed, taking the hairbrush. She had difficulties with the hair knots, but she dealt with them quickly. When she was done, she left the brush on the nightstand and laid on the bed.

How is she?" Tony asked, without really looking at her.

"She's doing okay. The clothes were a little loose, but she didn't seemed to mind." Wanda said, almost embarrassed.

"That's alright, her new ones probably will get here by tomorrow morning. Thank you anyway."

They stayed in this awkward silence for a moment before Wanda spoke again.

"You're a good man, Stark" Tony looked at her, surprised by her words. "I would never expect you to do something like that." There's a beat of silence while she organized her thoughts "She's a good kid, you know? She wants to be good. I saw in her mind. There's... so much pain in there... She's really scared, Tony.

Tony once again was taken by surprise for all things that Wanda said. It was not like they spoke much, and seeing how much she was letting herself be vulnerable moved him.

"We're going to help her, Wanda. She's going to be okay."

"I know." Wanda smiled before she was serious again. "I never really thanked you, for everything.”

Tony frowned. "Everything?" 

"Fighting for me to be able to be in US soil? Be back at the team after Germany? Almost sacrificing yourself to save us all?" Tony blinked a few times, still shocked. "You take your pick." 

"And I never really had the chance of saying "sorry" for everything that happened to you before, because of me." He cleared his throat.

"It wasn't your fault." She interrupted him, "At the time, me and brother thought so, but now I see that it wasn't. We were just two kids driven by grief and anger that discounted those feelings in the first person we saw, that happened to be you." 

Tony didn't know what to say, neither he thought it was needed.

"Take care of her, Tony. She needs our protection."Without another word, she left.

Tony stared at her back for a few seconds, processing everything he heard. Maybe this family could really heal, after all.

Tony knocked on the door a minute later, peeking with his head, and checked that it was okay to enter.

“Did I wake you up?” He asked, still by door. Hope shook her head.

Tony entered the room and approached the bed, hands in his pockets, awkwardly.

“Wanda told me you were already ready to sleep, and I came to see if you needed anything.” Tony said. “Do you need anything?”

Hope shook her head again.

“Alright” He stood there for a few more moments, until he finally spoke.  “So, good night, Hope.” Tony said, already heading for the door, and closing it.

Hope stared at the door for a few seconds before lying down again. Finally, for the first time that day, she was alone. Hope's thoughts drifted over the madness that day had become. Right now, his henchmen would be pulling their hair out looking for her. The thought alone gave Hope goosebumps. And then, she bumped into Loki, and once again, her life had become chaos in less than 24 hours.

Hope's chest tightened, making her hug herself tightly.

And to think that, just that morning, she was still there. On that same day, she had no way of knowing if her escape plan would work, or if she would die trying - because she was sure they would kill her without a second thought if they caught her.

Like it or not, Hope knew too much. Or that was what they believed.

There, in the dark of the room, the memories grew stronger and more constant. The only thing that held her back in reality was the comforting smell of the sheets. But still, the dark was becoming frightening, too much like the cold room in which she spent her nights.

Slowly, the girl tossed the covers aside, got up from the bed and walked quickly to the switch, turning on the lights. With the lights on, Hope could see clearly where she was, and thus fight harder with the memories. She had things to think about. Hope had to have a strategy, a way to escape if everything went wrong.

She was safe, for now. But Hope knew that she could never stop running. She would never have a normal life, she would never be the child she needed to be.

Standing in one place was dangerous, it would give them more chances of finding out where she might be. However, staying on the street was much worse. In addition to having nowhere to sleep or what to eat, she would be exposed and unprotected, also giving them more chances to find her. Hope was stuck.

She had no choice. She would have to stay at Stark’s house for as long as he allowed. However, staying there was dangerous, there were variables that Hope couldn't control. Tony could call the police or expel her. She would have to be on the lookout for any signs that this would happen.

There were a lot of possibilities and uncertainties, and Hope was absolutely tired of uncertainties.

Hope’s biggest dream was to have a normal life. Going to school, making friends, playing with dolls, having a family... Why couldn't she have that? Why did everything have to be so difficult? Would she never be happy? Wasn't she worthy of happiness? Wasn't she lovable? Was she unable to be loved?

No. It didn't make sense. Tracy loved her immensely, Hope knew that. But she was long gone, and the girl had never felt that kind of love again.

The thought made a lump form in the girl's throat. She wanted to cry with relief and longing. She wanted to cry for everything that had happened in the past few years, she wanted to cry for everything that had happened in the past few hours.

She was free of them. Finally, she had managed to escape. Finally, she didn't have to run anymore. Hope has never been so relieved in her life.

The feeling was so strong… so overwhelming, it made his heart beat faster. She was free. Free from Arthur. Free from Elisabeth. Free from the dark room. Free of everything.

Tears streamed down the girl's face before she even realized it. The doubts, the longing, the relief, the memories and the pain caused her heart to tighten even more, as if he was slowly shattering into a thousand pieces, and there was nothing that Hope could do to fix it. The thought made the pain come in stronger waves.

She put her hands over her mouth to muffle the sounds of the sobs she was making, the last thing she wanted to do was to disturb and annoy the people who had just helped her so far. Hope wanted to scream out the pain she was feeling - so hard it seemed to break her inside - but she knew she couldn't. She had to be quiet, and cry silently, as always.

Hope just wondered, "where would she go next?"


End file.
